A recent update to Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 acts as an intriguing teaser for the game Secret of the Mimic, providing glimpses of what is to come. Of course, this update does not offer any direct explanations for the questions it raises, but some of the newly added details already have significant implications for the entire FNAF franchise. Combined with the other reveals included in this update, it is increasingly clear that Secret of the Mimic will have a major impact on FNAF lore.

Although little is known about the next FNAF game at present, its initial teaser trailer did include a hint towards Mimic animatronic seen in Security Breach’s Ruin DLC. This character, Jackie, was later revealed in full in a game demo presented at Pax West, but her origins and motivations for attacking the player character largely remain a mystery.

Help Wanted 2’s Update Hints At Secret Of The Mimic's Content

New Reveals Could Include The Next FNAF Game’s Setting

Help Wanted 2’s new update includes a variety of interesting details that clearly relate to Secret of the Mimic, including characters and settings. After following a series of hints provided by Mystic Hippo, the player interacts with Jackie’s box in a new area, triggering a short voice line saying “Time to play.” They are then tasked with assembling a jigsaw. This puzzle shows either a gift shop or a van depending on whether the Vanny mask is being worn or not, and after completing the puzzle these same objects appear in the corresponding versions of reality as well.

This gift shop bears a prominent sign advertising masks, and in the jigsaw image appears to have a factory behind it, although this latter detail is not visible in the VR model. Although there is no sign announcing it as such, it also appears to be a location associated with Fazbear Entertainment. This is made clear by images of a yellow bear and blue rabbit, presumably versions of Freddy and Bonnie being visible in a stained glass window alongside a wagon. It is possible that this shop, the factory, or both, will be the setting of Secret of the Mimic.

The mask ment is itself notable due to a subtle trend that has emerged in the latest FNAF games. In both Help Wanted 2 and the debatably canonical game Into the Pit, a character mask can be found, modeled after Bonnie and Freddy respectively. These masks appear to imply that Cassie and Oswald’s fathers were two of Michael Afton’s childhood friends, the group who contributed to the death of Michael’s brother in 1983. This new setting may be the origin of these masks, and by extension, Secret of the Mimic could feature another one of these bullies in some way.

Help Wanted 2’s New Content Features Jackie And M.X.E.S.

It Remains A Mystery What Role These Characters Play In Secret Of The Mimic

The van found in the same area as the gift shop opens to reveal it is carrying the M.X.E.S. computer. Inputting the code 4625, found on the mailbox outside the gift shop, triggers a short scene in which M.X.E.S. briefly emerges from the computer as it did in Ruin before being pulled back inside. The van’s doors then slam shut, and it drives away in the darkness before the game credits appear, making this the latest and arguably most mysterious of Help Wanted 2’s various endings.

The code used here may be intended to indicate that Secret of the Mimic is planned to be released on 4/6/25, or April 6 2025.

It is unclear if this is intended to depict an event taking place before or after Ruin, but in either case, it is clear that M.X.E.S. will play a part in the events of the franchise beyond Ruin. Of course, this in itself isn’t necessarily a surprise. As a security program that seems to have the specific purpose of keeping the Mimic sealed away, it would make sense for the digital entity to factor into a game clearly based around the dangerous AI.

Meanwhile, the update also allows players to see Jackie’s model on the main stage, the first opportunity to do so in-person for those unable to attend Pax West, as well as the Mimic in its costume as seen in Ruin. A card depicting Jackie is also now found in the Office: Puppet Master level, which is itself part of the post-game sequence. Here, the Sister Location office’s keypad can now be inputted with the code 1979, reinforcing the apparent importance of the year to Secret of the Mimic.

Tales From The Pizzaplex Might Be Canon To The Games

The Popular Theory About The Book Series Is Almost Completely Confirmed

Strikingly, the contents of this update bear strong parallels to the story of the Mimic told in the Tales from the Pizzaplex books. Using the 1979 code rewards a white tiger plush with blue and green eyes, which in turn unlocks a model of the Mimic. This model must then be hit with an object in order to proceed. The Mimic’s creator in the books, Edwin, brutally beat the Mimic after it copied the behavior of his dead son David (who was hit by a van), including carrying around a white tiger plush.

The appearance of this plush also clearly invokes Tiger Rock, another form of the Mimic that emerges later in the books’ timeline.

The inclusion of so many references to this part of Five Nights at Freddy’s’ complex lore implies that the same sequence of events occurred in the games, which by extension suggests (as per a popular theory) that the rest of the stories in the series are likewise canonical. Of course, it is also possible that this is only partially true. For example, the Mimic’s story may still have unfolded somewhat differently in the specific timeline of the FNAF games, or else only the Mimic-related stories may be canonical to them. Until more details emerge, it is impossible to be certain.

If the Tales from the Pizzaplex books are confirmed to be canon to the games, this would have massive implications for Five Nights at Freddy’s. It would greatly expand the lore of the games, and provide valuable context for both current and future titles. But even if this theory is later disproven, there are still some incredibly tantalizing hints of what is to come in Secret of the Mimic. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 has primed people for the future title’s clearly exciting additions to the lore.