If you’re trying to get your head around FNAF’s William Afton, you’re in the right place. Our guide to the overarching antagonist of the Five Nights at Freddy’s series has everything you need to know about the evil mastermind and how he came to be. Of course, there are plenty of spoilers ahead, so if you want to stay fresh going into the franchise, maybe come back later.
For more from this frightening series, check out our FNAF characters guide, or see our independent biographies on FNAF’s Freddy, FNAF’s Chica, FNAF’s Springtrap, FNAF’s Roxy, FNAF’s Puppet, FNAF’s Monty, and FNAF’s Foxy. Or, if you can’t wait to see Freddy’s feature film debut, check out our FNAF movie guide.
Who is FNAF’s William Afton?
William Afton founded the in-game Freddy’s franchise, forming the company with business partner Henry Emily in the early 1980s. Things go quite wrong quite quickly, though, with Afton murdering Emily’s daughter around the time of the Bite of 83, forcing the establishment to close.
Skip to five years later and you have the event that sets up the plot of Five Nights At Freddy’s. Afton kills five children while dressed as Spring Bonnie, but the police release him seemingly due to a lack of evidence. The spirits of the five kids go into Freddy, Foxy, Bonnie, Chica, and Golden Freddy, where they spend the rest of their days waiting to take revenge on the evil man that put them there.
Following the killing, Afton opens a new venture in Circus Baby’s Pizza World. However, the restaurant is a ruse, as Circus Baby is a creation of Afton made only to kill more children. There is a reason for this cruelty, Afton is trying to get his hands on Remnant, the superpowered substance that allows spirits to inhabit the animatronics, which he hopes he can use to make himself immortal.
As is the case with any good story, Afton’s shady ways catch up with him eventually. On a return trip to the condemned pizzeria that holds the five animatronics imbued with the spirits of the killed children, the five try to hunt down Afton, forcing him to try and hide inside a Spring Bonnie costume. Things go from bad to worse as the rain leaks from the roof down Afton’s costume, causing the animatronic to activate and combine with the man’s body.
Following a nearly thirty-year time gap, the spirit of Afton revives inside of the Spring Bonnie costume, taking on the name Springtrap. You take on Springtrap in FNAF 3, slowly learning that it’s Afton inside the terrifying costume. Eventually, the attraction you’re guarding burns down, but Springtrap manages to escape, despite plenty of fire damage to the costume.
In Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator, Henry Emily and Afton’s son Michael come together to try and put a stop to Springtrap/Afton once and for all by burning him alive, also freeing the souls of Circuis Baby and Puppet. Unfortunately, despite everyone else losing their lives to the fire, Afton survives once more, this time thanks to FNAF’s Vanny, who uses the Glamrock animatronics of Security Breach to salvage Springtrap’s body while Afton remains in digital stasis as Glitchtrap.
The final part of Afton’s story at the time of writing comes in the true ending to FNAF: Security Breach. FNAF’s Gregory turns on Henry Emily’s incinerators before escaping alongside Glam Rock Freddy and leaving Afton to burn. Afton attempts to escape, but The Blob pulls him back into the establishment to melt into the ground. Still, we’ve seen Afton escape before, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him return again.
What is FNAF’s William Afton’s personality?
There’s simply one word to describe William Afton’s personality; evil. Afton is the only character throughout the series that doesn’t have any redeeming qualities. As a well-practised killer, Afton is cold-blooded and uncaring, with seemingly no remorse for his actions across a lifetime of inflicting pain and suffering.
Unlike other antagonists in the series, there’s no redemptive factor in Afton’s personality or actions, with his own children dying as a result of his experiments. In terms of drive, Afton seems only to care about killing others and himself living forever, with the minigames throughout the series detailing his descent into evil by his gradual turning purple.
FNAF’s William Afton game appearances
Whether it be as himself or a variation of Springtrap, William Afton is in nearly all of the FNAF games, except for the first, in which there are only mentions of the man. It’s little surprise, though, considering he is the overarching antagonist of the series. You can find a list of all the game’s Afton features below.
- Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
- Five Nights at Freddy’s 3
- Five Nights at Freddy’s 4
- Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location
- Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator
- Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted
- Five Nights at Freddy’s AR: Special Delivery
- Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach
- Ultimate Custom Night
Is William Afton in the FNAF movie?
Yes, William Afton is in the FNAF movie an is portrayed by horror movie icon Matthew Lillard, though we perhaps love him best for his role as Shaggy in the live action Scooby Doo films.
There you have it, all you need to know about FNAF’s William Afton. If you’re looking for something a little less scary, feel free to jump aboard our Honkai Star Rail tier list to find the best turn-based battlers for the mobile RPG.
