A recent lore analysis of the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise establishes that the Missing Children Incident occurred after the Bite of '83, relying exclusively on the chronological progression of the Five Nights at Freddy's 3 training tapes and in-game minigames.
Audio Log Chronology
The Five Nights at Freddy's 3 phone calls follow a strict internal sequence regarding the deployment and retirement of springlock suits. On Nights 2 and 3, Phone Guy outlines the proper operational procedures for the dual-function springlock costumes. Night 4 introduces a critical pivot in the timeline, detailing a multiple simultaneous springlock failure at a sister location that prompts management to ban employees from wearing the suits altogether.
Night 5 explicitly warns staff against bringing customers into the restricted "safe rooms" and notes that the yellow Spring Bonnie suit has been noticeably moved. Finally, Night 6 confirms that these safe rooms are being permanently sealed up with drywall across all franchise locations.
The Susie Luring Sequence
Minigame evidence within the same continuity directly connects these audio logs to the fate of the first victim. "Fruity Maze" and Ultimate Custom Night establish that Susie, the first child of the Missing Children Incident, was lured away by William Afton specifically while he wore the Spring Bonnie suit. Because the training tapes document the permanent retirement and subsequent securing of the springlock suits following the sister location incident, Afton's utilization of the Spring Bonnie costume to abduct Susie had to occur after the springlock ban was already enforced.
This mechanical chain of events anchors the timeline entirely within the core game canon. The Bite of '83 and the subsequent regulatory bans on springlock suits chronologically precede William Afton utilizing the Spring Bonnie persona for the murders, resolving a long-standing debate without relying on dates derived from the novel trilogy or film adaptations.
