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Not what you were looking for? See Mike (disambiguation) or Schmidt (disambiguation).

The robots' behavior has become somewhat unpredictable at night however, and it was much cheaper to hire you as a security guard than to find a repairman.
The publicity blurb, Five Nights at Freddy's

Mike Schmidt is the main protagonist of the first Five Nights at Freddy's game. He was a security guard employed by Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, working on a 7-night shift from midnight to 6 AM, until he was eventually fired after tampering with the animatronics. The game is played in the first-person perspective, through his eyes.

Physical Appearance[]

There is no possible way to see Mike's physical appearance in most of the game, as the player is forced to stay in the first-person view for its entirety except for in the Game Over screen, in which Mike can be seen stuffed into a Freddy Fazbear suit with his blue eyes and teeth visible inside of it.

Personality[]

Little is known about Mike's character. The reason he would continue to work at a failing pizzeria with a high risk of death for pay at minimum wage is unknown and could possibly be attributed to either altruism, desperation, or thrill-seeking on his part. Considering Freddy's "Toreador March" is one of the main themes of the game and that it deals with thrill-seeking, the latter is somewhat more likely. He seems to be a competent technician, being able to tamper with the animatronics.

Role[]

FNaF1Newspaper-Updated

What could possibly go wrong?

Despite the low pay and clear danger, Mike continues his job every night for the rest of the week for unknown reasons. At the end of Night 5, Mike Schmidt receives a check for $120.

At the end of Night 6, he receives a comparatively minuscule check of $120.50, an increase of fifty cents. He also receives a note from his boss, stating that he has "earned some overtime!"

Upon completing the Custom Night, he receives a notice of termination, likely due to the in-game interaction right before said night, customizing the animatronics A.I., which the notice describes as tampering with the animatronics.

Theories and Speculation[]

WitheredChica-Icon "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.

  • It is believed by many that Mike Schmidt was an alias used by Michael Afton, the son of William Afton and the main protagonist of Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location. Although there is not a specific piece of evidence that makes this claim irrefutable, there are numerous subtle hints that may suggest this is the case.
    • The previous owner of the survival logbook goes under the name "Mike", referring to either Mike Schmidt or Michael Afton. Since the survival logbook is for night guards working at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, as stated in the back of the book, the only character known to have worked at the FNaF 1 location is Mike Schmidt.
    • In the survival logbook, Mike Schmidt references the events of FNaF:SL, like the exotic butters, casual bongos, and the soap opera The Immortal and the Restless, heavily implying Mike's connection to Michael Afton as he's the protagonist of said game.
    • Michael's body decomposing during the ending of Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location could also explain how his body odor was bad enough to result in him being fired.
    • Another small piece of evidence is that Mike Schmidt and Michael Afton both have blue eyes.
MikefromFNAF4
  • It is made very clear that Michael Afton was the previous owner of the survival logbook. The survival logbook also implies that Michael is the protagonist of Five Nights at Freddy's 4, strengthening the evidence for Mike Schmidt and Michael Afton being the same person, since there is also a lot of evidence that Schmidt is the protagonist of Five Nights at Freddy's 4:
    • Ralph's calls can occasionally be heard during the nights, and Mike is the only known character to have heard them.
    • The gameplay itself seems to mirror that of the first game. The layout of the Bedroom strongly resembles the office. The behavior of the animatronics is also eerily similar, with Bonnie attacking from the left, Chica attacking from the right (occasionally going into the kitchen to interfere with the pots and pans), Foxy hiding in the closet with different stages indicating when he will attack (in addition to running in the halls), and Freddy manifesting in the dark.
    • In The Ultimate Guide, in the FNaF 1 section, it mentions a "Mike from FNAF 4" with no context given.
    • Despite the evidence, and large consensus among fans, there is still yet to be direct confirmation on these hypotheses.
  • The date on Mike's check after Night 6 is November 13.
    • The date on Mike's first check (after Night 5) is November 12. This date is most likely a Friday since paydays are commonly on Fridays and Mike just worked for five days, a typical workweek. The year on the check is replaced with "xx", but the game takes place during a year where November 12 falls on a Friday. The only possible years between 1990 and 2009 are 1993, 1999, and 2004.
    • However, on the fifth night of Five Nights at Freddy's 2, the payday is 12th November 1987, which is a Thursday. If the fifth night of Five Nights at Freddy's is also Thursday, the possible years between 1990 and 2009 are 1992, 1998, and 2009.
  • Mike only works for $4 per hour during his employment at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, which is lower than any American state's definition of the minimum wage.
    • This can potentially be refuted since, in the United States, federal income tax from 1988 to 2001 was 15% for whatever tax bracket Mike would be in with his $120 paycheck. Assuming 15% and that they took out income tax already before paying him, as most businesses do, Mike actually gets ~$141.18 (rounded to the nearest cent), which results in a ~$4.71 hourly wage (again, rounded to the nearest cent). That's just on federal income tax alone, not to mention state tax, which varies from state to state. The minimum wage was $4.25 from 1991-1995, $4.75 in 1996, and $5.15 from 1997-2006. If other taxes were taken out of his paycheck, it's easy enough to push the year this takes place in as far forward as 1996 and potentially to 2006. Assuming his payday was a Friday, this makes 1993 a viable year based simply on federal income tax and minimum wage at the time. If further taxes were taken out, 1999 and 2004 might become viable as well, as further taxation only means he receives a higher base pay. Any Friday the 12th in November after 2004 is unlikely, as the next is in 2010, where his income tax bracket would have dropped to 10%, making the minimum wage $7.25, too high for what he would be making.
    • It's possible that Freddy Fazbear's Pizza could legally be paying Mike at a rate that is clearly lower than the federal and state minimum wages today. The U.S. Department of Labor allows some categories of workers to be paid less than the minimum wage, to try and avoid hindering their employ-ability. Examples include young workers under 20, full-time students working in certain sectors, and those with physical or mental disabilities. In either case, certificates are required in order to carry it out- an unlikely scenario, given that Mike would only have had the job for a week, compared to the time or money it would have taken for the restaurant to obtain such a certificate. However, it shows that the sub-minimum pay rate can be legally given in certain circumstances. If the rumor about Mike being the victim of The Bite of '87 is true, then he would be classified as mentally disabled, allowing the company to give Mike the $4.00 hourly wage. The rationale behind the possibility that Mike could have belonged to one of these exceptional cases is that it opens up the year of the game's setting, so the tablet camera feed can make sense, without restricting the game's year to one where $4.00 hourly was actually the federal minimum wage- arguably 1993. However, this theory is unlikely since, if Mike was mentally disabled, he would probably not be able to avoid the animatronics, a task which requires strategy, reflexes, and multitasking ability.

Trivia[]

  • By the end of the Custom Night, the reasons listed for his release are "tampering with the animatronics", "general unprofessionalism", and "odor". This is believed to be in reference to the player's changing of the A.I. difficulty.
  • The Freddy vision screen also has blue, bloodshot eyes resembling Mike Schmidt's. These could be Freddy's eyes, but it could also act as a paranoid symbol for Mike, with the eyes belonging to him.
  • Around the newspaper ad Mike responds to, the same paragraph of filler words, taunts, and advice from Scott Cawthon can be seen nine times. This is also the case for the newspaper in Five Nights at Freddy's 2. It reads as follows:

"Blah. Blah. Blah, Blah. Blah. This ad has nothing to do with anything relevant to the game. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Chances are you won't make it past Night 3. Blah. Blah. Yackity Smackity. Blah. Blah. This probably isn't the best choice of a summer job, since you most likely won't survive the week. I'd recommend being a cashier, sack boy, or work in a warehouse. They are all very respectable jobs, and you probably won't be killed by them. Well, you might. But it would be unlikely. Blah. Blah."

  • Mike works the most nights of any playable night guard in the series, with all seven before being fired, compared to Jeremy Fitzgerald and the unnamed guard in Five Nights at Freddy's 3 with six, and Fritz Smith (who only works the Custom Night and is also fired).
  • While the Game Over screen shows that Mike got stuffed in a suit, there is part of an endoskeleton arm exposed. It could be the one usually seen in the Backstage, but it would not fit inside the costume along with him.
  • Mike is the first protagonist in the series who is ever shown in a location outside of The Office, as his deceased body can be seen in the Backstage upon death, the second being Michael Afton from Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location.
  • Oddly, Mike's paychecks on Night 5 and Night 6 are $120 and $120.50, respectively. It is unknown why the latter check is higher than the former, as it only accounts for a single night. Presumably, it is an oversight by Scott Cawthon, as in Five Nights at Freddy's 2, Jeremy Fitzgerald receives a check for $100.50 and another one for $20.10, accounting for overtime, whereas the former results from a five-shift workweek.
  • In the object files from Clickteam Fusion 2.5 MFA for Five Nights at Freddy's 2, the unused pixelated skull file is called "Mike". Whether it has something to do with Mike Schmidt himself or not is unknown.
  • Mike is one of the few human characters in the core series seen outside of minigame cutscenes with the others being Michael Afton, the technicians, The One You Should Not Have Killed, Steve Snodgrass, the Fazbear Funtime Service spokesman, the launch trailer protagonist, the audience, Vanessa, Gregory, and Cassie.

Gallery[]

Core Five Nights at Freddy's Series Characters
Afton Family
William AftonMichael AftonElizabeth Afton
Emily Family
Henry EmilyCharlotte Emily
Fazbear Funtime Workers
Anna KwemtoCharlesDaniel RochaIsoldeJames CampbellKayla StringerLuis CabreraMark ChoNoraRaha SalibSteven WilsonTristan
Other Characters
Mike SchmidtRalphJeremy FitzgeraldFritz SmithSecurity Guard (FNaF3)Phone DudeProtagonist (FNaF4)Crying ChildTechniciansTape GirlVanessaThe PrincessProtagonist (FNaF: SD)GregoryTherapistsCassieProtagonist (FNaF: HW2)
Minor Characters
FNaF1 Minor CharactersFNaF2 Minor CharactersFNaF3 Minor CharactersFNaF4 Minor CharactersFNaF: SL CharactersFFPS Minor CharactersUCN Minor CharactersFNaF: HW Minor CharactersFNaF: SD Minor CharactersFNaF: SB Minor CharactersFNaF: HW2 Minor Characters
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