Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic

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Five Nights at Freddy's:Secret of the Mimic
Information
Platform(s)	Windows PlayStation 5
Engine	Unreal Engine 4
Developer	Steel Wool Studios, Inc.
Price	$39.99
Genre	Survival Horror
Theme	Horror
Mode	Single-player
Project	Independent
Release Date(s)	June 13, 2025 October 31, 2025 (PS5 Physical)
Download(s)	Steam PlayStation Store (PS5) Epic Games Store
ESRB Rating	Teens
Preceded By	Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2

“Murray's been working on a custom endoskeleton for our new restaurant project. Everything was going great until...” — Dispatch, Launch Trailer

Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic, commonly abbreviated to FNaF: SotM, is an independent free-roam survival horror video game developed by Steel Wool Studios, Inc. and published by Scottgames, LLC. It was released on June 13, 2025 for Windows and PlayStation 5 and is the eleventh installment in the Five Nights at Freddy's series. A VR version of the game is planned to be released some time in the future.

Summary

Enter the abandoned workshop of Murray's Costume Manor and unravel the mystery left behind by the reclusive inventor, Edwin Murray. In Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic, you'll step into a world where every dark corner holds a secret and every flicker of light hints at an ever-present threat. The Mimic, a prototype endoskeleton, can adapt to any costume and become any character, including what you fear most. Armed with only your wits, a few gadgets, and a heavily redacted corporate briefing, you'll attempt to retrieve Fazbear's prized prototype technology while grappling with cryptic clues and a relentless shadow determined to dispatch all unwanted company.

Prepare for heart-pounding thrills as you explore the labyrinth of the deserted Costume Manor, discovering remnants of Edwin's unfinished work and eluding the monster he's created. Experience Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic, and survive the mystery and madness. Five Night's at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic will be available on June 13th, 2025.

Disclaimer: Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for whatever you awaken in the dark.

Plot

On the end of a 36-hour shift, Fazbear Entertainment, Inc. technician Arnold is contacted by Dispatch with a new assignment. Edwin Murray, a contracted employee in charge of his own company, Murray's Costume Manor, has gone radio silent and has thus surrendered his work to Fazbear Entertainment. Arnold is tasked with entering the MCM factory and retrieving company property, but is told that readings show someone is still in the building. Despite his reservations, Arnold is coerced into agreeing.

Armed with only a provided Data Diver (a digital key with multi-tiered security access), Arnold enters the factory. Forced to enter through a side door primarily intended for guests and customers of MCM products, Arnold is greeted with the Welcome Show - a scripted animatronic song performance that is intended to lead clients into other public areas of the factory. Upon the show malfunctioning, however, Arnold is forced to make his way into the back rooms of the facility and eventually to the security office.

Arnold, able to communicate with Dispatch from the office, learns that the entity in the building is suspected to be a violent endoskeleton. Arnold is told that this endoskeleton can mimic the size and demeanor of any animatronic, and could be hiding in any of the suits littering the factory. Dispatch also hints that other technicians have been sent in before him, and Arnold soon begins finding their forgotten bodies left to rot in empty character suits. The rogue endoskeleton appears shortly after, and Arnold must make use of auditory distractions and hiding spaces around the floors to avoid detection.

In order to make it to the Executive areas to access the Mimic's blueprints, Arnold is guided throughout the factory by Dispatch to upgrade his Data Diver's security level. During this journey, Arnold begins to piece together the history of the facility and the tragic tale of the Murray family through audio logs, film reels, digital communication, and abandoned toys.

Throughout his exploration of the facility, the Mimic relentlessly pursues Arnold, violently attacking him if caught. Additionally, certain other animatronics that do not appear to be possessed by the Mimic endoskeleton will still react violently to Arnold's presence. One of these, a ghostly and child-like white tiger, appears to Arnold in impossible ways and vanishes near instantly.

Once Arnold has achieved the final security level and retrieved the blueprints of the prototype, speaking with Dispatch will give Arnold's final task: return the Data Diver through the facility's inventory system. Depending on the player's actions, one of two ending paths will trigger.

Complying with the voice of Dispatch will see Arnold being allowed to return to his van and leave. Upon being confronted over his in-car radio by Dispatch as to where he has been and why he gave away company property, Arnold attempts to explain while being berated and threatened. Distressed and confused, Arnold is attacked from within his moving vehicle by the Mimic.

Alternatively, Arnold is able to use Executive-level access to run a program on the main computer terminal called "Parachute.EXE" to open a passageway to escape the locked Security Office. This allows Arnold access to a secret area of the facility filled with incomplete prototypes, the layout of which is reminiscent of a certain pizzeria. With the Mimic in pursuit and Dispatch fighting to keep pathways obstructed, Arnold eventually breaks into a room containing a large supercomputer. This computer, named F10-N4, had tricked Arnold into entering the facility by contacting him using the voice of Dispatch from the very beginning. F10-N4, who was a successful artificial intelligence created in the image of Edwin's late wife, has been guiding technicians to the facility. F10-N4 tells Arnold that Edwin is the only one who can fix the Mimic, whom she calls M2, and asserts that convincing Edwin to fix M2 is the only way Arnold will leave alive.

Arnold uses the access tunnels to enter the Murray home, pursued by the Mimic. Upon entering Edwin's office after solving the house's puzzles, it is revealed that the Mimic - originally created to replace Edwin's son David after a tragic accident - had instead taken on Edwin's violent and uncaring personality. This resulted in a violent encounter, shown in explosive damage to Edwin's office and Edwin's presumed death. With no other option, Arnold enters Edwin's control room and activates a new program called "Cradle.EXE". This program, originally noted through logs as a way for Edwin to protect David, begins a self-destruct sequence in the complex. Dodging frantic animatronics and the spreading fire to eventually reach his van, Arnold does not make a clean escape. The Mimic attacks the car from the roof and causes Arnold to crash. The Mimic leaves Arnold to his fate, only reaching in to rip the Data Diver from him and walk away in silence.

Upon a second playthrough, a 25th and final collectible becomes available in the security office upon first entering. Once all 24 collectibles from the main facility are entered into the inventory system, the computer terminal video game "Moon.EXE" will be complete and able to be finished properly. (The collectible found in the Murray residence at the end of the game is not required to finish moon.exe). Upon completion, an entity in the program will provide Arnold's data diver with "Glitched Executive" access - and thus, access to the final room in the Murray residence and the game's secret ending.

Gameplay

Secret of the Mimic is a first-person stealth horror game with an emphasis on exploration, puzzle-solving, and survival. The game departs from the traditional camera-based gameplay of earlier FNaF titles and instead focuses on direct player movement through a fully explorable 3D environment.

Most of the game consists of relying on stealth mechanics to evade the Mimic, an enemy that can wear any of the dozens of mascot costumes scattered throughout the environment. Players can use distractions such as wind-up mice and singing cardboard standees to lure the Mimic away from them. The game also has more elaborate "boss" chases, where players must avoid unique threats in scripted sequences that force players to react quickly and leave little room for error.

Players will also be tasked with solving puzzles, navigating dangerous environments with unique enemies, and completing repair tasks. The game also contains a variety of minigames, collectibles, and secrets to discover. Players are encouraged to backtrack and explore, as some areas contain additional story content and even enemy encounters that cannot be found anywhere else.

Reception

Secret of the Mimic is received positively with over 6,500 reviews on Steam, having 86% of users rating it positively, giving the game a "Very Positive." PlayStation has a 4.61, of a 5 of 5 system, from 3,100+ ratings. Epic Games has a 4.6, of a 5 of 5 system, with the amount of reviews not being displayed.

Many players enjoyed the game, praising Steel Wool's improvements since Security Breach. Though, many find that the gameplay feels a bit rough and some sections feeling designed for VR, which was delayed for after the games initial release. Some also dislike the series continuing down the more traditional free-roam horror experience, though the darker tone of the game compared to other titles has been praised.

Development

Early discussions and development of Secret of the Mimic began in early-2022, with full-focus development beginning after the release of Help Wanted 2 in December 2023. In August 2024, close to a year after full development began, Scottgames and Steel Wool would release an announcement teaser on the sixth for the 10th anniversary, with a release window of 2025. At the end of August, on the 28, Steel Wool would publish the PlayStation Store page, revealing the game being made for standard and VR play. At PAX West 2024, starting on August 30, Steel Wool held a short, playable two-level VR demo of Secret of the Mimic. Under a month later, September 20, Steel Wool would go to Day of the Devs' Fantastic Games event, where they'd showcase a 20-minute presentation of Secret of the Mimic.

The next year, on February 12, 2025, the gameplay trailer would be revealed during Sony's PlayStation State of Play, with the release of June 13, 2025. Following this reveal, details regarding PSVR2 support were quietly removed from the PlayStation Store page and other official sources. Pre-orders on the PlayStation Store would also go live. A few days later, on the 15, the game was added to the GameStop store An extended clip from the trailer would be posted by PlayStation's German X/Twitter On March 14, the Steam page was made launched, showcasing new screenshots. Later that month, Steel Wool would post a "75 days" teaser.

From May 5, 2025 to June 9, Steel Wool posted image teasers of posters from within the game. Steel Wool would update their socials to be completed themed around Secret of the Mimic on May 9. The following day, YouTuber Dawko would upload an interview with Evan Lampi, notably they confirmed VR is still in development, just delayed to focus on the standard release so everyone can play day 1. From May 16 to June 6, Steel Wool uploaded "MCM Archive" teaser videos. The following day, Steel Wool would provide Dawko with an image and video teaser for Secret of the Mimic. One of the protagonist petting the Clean-O-Vac and a screenshot of what seems to be the lobby of the building, with "Mr. Helpful." Under a week later, June 5, the Epic Games Store page would launch, revealing the game to have 25 achievements. Hours later, 7 of the voice cast were revealed by Steel Wool.Then, starting on June 8, Steel Wool would post photos of a vintage film counter displaying how many days were left until the games release. And, when brightened, they reveal new locations and characters. Scottgames would post teaser videos on X/Twitter a few days later, on June 11. The teasers would hold hidden text that, when typed in the search bar, led to unlisted YouTube videos of chase segments for Jackie, Big Top, and Dollie. Select YouTubers were given the ok to upload their play-throughs of the first in-game hour.

Before the release of the game, on June 13, 2025, Steel Wool posted one final teaser video. This would be closely followed by Secret of the Mimic officially releasing on Steam, PlayStation, and Epic Games digital stores. Over 3 months after the release, iam8bit revealed the physical release on the PlayStation 5, with the set release of October 31, 2025. Additionally, on September 16, 2025, Patch 1 was released.

Theories and Speculation

"I was the first! I have seen everything!" This section archives a lot of theories and speculation, which usually occurs from pre-release media, or just things that are still unknown, so please keep that in mind while reading. The page will continue to be updated with the most accurate information as more solid evidence is supplied.

• At the end of the teaser trailer, the year "1979" is seen. This means that the game is likely connected to the year of 1979, though whether the game is set in 1979 or if the year is simply just connected to the story remains unknown.
  • As revealed in the gameplay trailer, the protagonist is an employee of Fazbear Entertainment dispatched to retrieve the Mimic following the disappearance of Edwin Murray. This supports the 1979 idea, and suggests that the game takes place in a similar time frame to the events of "The Mimic."
• Brian Freyermuth, the design director at Steel Wool, quoted Steel Wool's announcement post on X/Twitter, saying, "The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones," a quote from William Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar." It is currently unknown what this means in relation to Secret of the Mimic.
  • The quote could be a reference to the Mimic's nature, having imitated the actions of people it has witnessed even after those responsible are long deceased.
  • The quote could also be a reference to Edwin Murray, whose actions in life led to multiple tragedies and had lasting consequences after his presumed death. In death, any remaining good that Edwin created through his company was tarnished by being absorbed into Fazbear Entertainment, Inc., and any knowledge he had in the effort of reviving his family was lost with him as well.
• Brian would post another quote from one of William Shakespeare's plays when Steel Wool posted the gameplay trailer to X/Twitter, this time of "Richard II," saying, "My grief lies all within; and these external manner of laments are merely shadows of the unseen grief that swells with silence in the tortur'd soul."
  • It is unknown who this may reference in Five Nights at Freddy's, but, going off the quote's meaning, the character is likely hiding sorrow deep within themselves and only showing superficial reflections of something much deeper within.
• In the free content update for Help Wanted 2, a plushie of a white tiger with blue and green eyes was added to the game, likely in reference to the plush owned by David Murray. Due to analysis of the model, fans speculated that this plush is, in fact, a scaled-down model of a mascot costume, one which could potentially appear within Secret of the Mimic.
  • This was seemingly confirmed with the release of the gameplay trailer on February 12, 2025, as the same model appears.
• A voice similar to HandUnit's can be heard in the gameplay trailer. It is speculated that this is an earlier and less advanced version of HandUnit from Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location.
  • The voice also sounds more human-like, so it is also possible for this to be an employee of Fazbear Entertainment whose voice would later be used, either by consent, being stolen, or mimicked, for HandUnit.
  • The connection would later be confirmed upon the game's release with the voice of HandUnit, Andy Field, returning to voice Dispatch.
• It's theorized that something will happen to the protagonists arm/hand due to the odd amount of arm/hand-related imagery/warnings in the games marketing.
  • The PAX West 2024 booth had fake torn-off hands placed around and a poster with the phrase "need a hand?"
  • Online, Steel Wool would post teasers of posters in the game, one of which is a hands-related employee safety poster and another poster showing the elephant mascot suit with his arm detached.
    • A similar knife safety poster can be seen in gameplay of Security Breach, featuring Chica with a severed left hand.
  • At the end of RUIN, Mimic loses its arm from the closing elevator door. This could be foreshadowing the Mimic's history of arm-related injuries, either by receiving or dealing.
  • In fact, during the true ending, Mimic actually tries to grab Arnold in the same way that he tried with Cassie years later, with both segments taking place in an elevator.
    • It's known that, in the Tales from the Pizzaplex Epilogues, Mimic had been programmed to remove the arms and heads of endoskeletons and would start tearing them off of both the endos and employees in its sight.

Trivia

• This is the first Steel Wool developed Five Nights at Freddy's title (not including DLC) to not be first shown during a PlayStation event.
• Jackie bears a similar appearance to Coils the Birthday Clown from the Fazbear Frights series.
• The game was likely being developed under the working title "Carnival." This is due to a mostly empty cut map within the RUIN DLC, which features a text box stating "Something Cool That Maybe Foreshadows Carnival (Pending JTop's Thoughts)."
  • The PlayStation Store URL also says "FNAFCARNIVAL."
• The mix of "My Grandfather's Clock" heard in the teaser was used in the Quest port of Help Wanted 2.
• Secret of the Mimic reached top 5 on Steam's top sellers on June 14, 2025.
• The Bad ending is the only ending in the game to not have the credits take place on a black screen, with it instead taking place in the pizzeria mockup in Research & Development.
• This is also the first Five Nights at Freddy's game to show human bodies inside of mascot/animatronic suits that, unlike Springtrap, aren't adversaries.
• It is also the first game in the series to allow the player to enter a springlock suit on their own, unlike Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location, where the player is trapped into one at the end of Night 3.