Summary
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2is among the franchise’s most highly anticipated releases ever, and, this week, developer Steel Wool Studios finally revealed its release date. On Jun 13, 2025, a gameplay trailer andPlayStation blog post forHelp Wanted 2gave fans their first solid look at its various modes and locations. While the highlight of this duel announcement was thatFNAF’s newest title will be released on July 23, 2025, fans were quick to begin connecting the dots between its depicted minigames, characters, and tasks. As it turns out,FNAF Help Wanted 2’s newest updates reveal far more than its release date.
FNAF Help Wanted 2is the sequel to 2019’sHelp Wanted, which ushered in a new era for theFive Nights at Freddy’sfranchise. For the sequel, Steel Wool Studios has made a significant number of changes, ensuring thatHelp Wanted 2would be fun on every single replay. Unlike its predecessor, which offered a range of unchanging minigames, the sequel will see each game built with a variety of possible objectives, requirements, and survival scenarios. In addition, the developer promises that some more “curated” experiences lie in wait for those who master its main content.
RELATED:Five Nights at Freddy’s Lore has Finally Caught Up to RUIN
Help Wanted 2 is Set to Deliver One of FNAF’s Most Important Entries
TheFive Nights at Freddy’sfranchise is amid a massive shift as 2023 comes to an end. In the past year alone, Steel Wool has made a massive effort to determine and deliver the franchise’s true canonical lore.FNAF: Security Breach RUINandtheTales from the Pizzaplexnovels revealed The Mimic, the series' true antagonist. TheDITTOPHOBIAshort story revealed the canon ofFNAF 4, revealing the setting to be a testing facility connected to theSister Locationbunker.ALONE TOGETHERexplained the canonical restrictions for victims’ spirits and officially revealed how they can be saved. Lastly, the combination of these reveals provided context to the connection between some ofFNAF’s most important locations, confirming that the Mega Pizzaplex, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Place, and the Sister Location Facility were built on top of each other, with the latter connecting toFNAF 4and other restaurants.
With so many lore reveals occurring before the release ofHelp Wanted 2, fans have long suspected that the title will connect the dots betweenFNAF: Security Breach,Sister Location, andPizzeria Simulator, a notion that this week’s reveals have seemingly proven correct. In its PlayStation Blog post, Steel Wool Studios revealed thatHelp Wanted 2will feature six categories of minigames. Backstage minigames will see fans aid and repairthe Mega-Pizzaplex’s Glamrock Animatronics. Fazcade minigames will feature carnival-like experiences during which random horror scenarios can be discovered. Food Prep will see fans work in the Kitchen of El Chips, preparing food for guests. Staff Only, perhaps the most mysterious of the minigame categories, will see players perform basic first aid for guests, including limb amputation, while ensuring that patient’s screams don’t draw unwanted attention.
Help Wanted 2’s Final Category Sets the Stage for a Massive Reveal
In a massive departure from the other minigames,Help Wanted 2’s last category has been revealed as a VR adaptation ofFNAF: Sister Location, which fans suspect to be the platform through which a long-awaited reveal will take place. Before the release ofSecurity Breach, theFazbear’s Frightsbook series revealed Circus Baby to be the grand architect ofFNAF’s new era. However, the game made no hint to the character when it was finally released. The last year has seen that trajectory reversed, ashints to Circus Babywere littered throughout the series’RUINDLC,Tales’ series, and free-online platform game. Particularly, DITTOPHOBIA’s re-contextualizing of theSister Locationfacility, the franchise’s most recent lore reveal, opened the door to a new area beyond the facility’s observation room and a sinister mystery within.
Scrap Baby, a character seen at the end ofHelp Wanted 2’s gameplay trailer, is not the same as Circus Baby.
It remains to be seen what reveals are in-store for fans inHelp Wanted 2. However, all signs point to the title positioning itself as a massively important entry in the series' newly confirmed canon. As the title features minigames set within theMega Pizza-Plex,Pizza Pace, andSL facility, it seems fans will finally discover the lore connecting each location’s sinister origins. Most significantly, Steel Wool’s confirmation of aSister Locationmode, including gameplay set withinthe newly recontextualized Observation Room, sets the stage for the reveal of who, or what, lurks in the deepest parts of Fazbear Entertainment’s multi-layered structure.
Five Nights at Freddy’s
Five Nights at Freddy’s is a first-person survival horror and resource management game from Scott Cawthorn that raced to popularity thanks to its creepy animatronic enemies and its array of panic-inducing jumpscares. Bringing life to a cavalcade of well-known characters like Freddy Fazbear, Chica, Foxy, Bonnie, and more, Five Nights at Freddy’s has seen immense success, spinoffs, and fan games.
