Five Nights 4
A promotional image for 'Five Nights at Freddy's 4' with the game's original release date. http://www.indiedb.com/

In a move that many will find surprising, developer Scott Cawthon has released “Five Nights at Freddy’s 4” early on Steam, making it available for those who have wanted to get their hands on it. Originally, the game was slated for a release sometime in August, with a special Halloween-themed update to follow in October, but it looks like the game came out earlier than expected.

According to the game’s official Steam page, it seems like Cawthon finished making it much earlier than expected, so he decided to release it to the public to enjoy the horror game right away. Cawthon has also admitted that he is bad with release dates, overestimating how much time the game would take to make and finishing it a month ahead of schedule.

Gameplay has proven to be quite different from previous games, which could be due to some complaints about the third game feeling too similar to the previous two installments in the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” series. The fourth game has players taking on the role of a child who can only defend against the monsters with a flashlight.

Players will have to shine this light on the monsters known as Freddy Fazbear, Chica, Bonnie, Foxy and others that have been described as “much worse.” Players can flash the light on them if they see them near the door or hallways but have to be prepared as they can attack from under the bed and more.

A Halloween update for “Five Nights at Freddy’s 4” is coming this October to celebrate the anniversary of the game’s release, though what the content is has yet to be revealed. Fans can expect it to be creepy, however.

Siliconera stated that the game wasn’t supposed to come out till Aug. 8, though its clear that fans who are excited for the game are happy that they won’t have to wait till next month to play the latest installment of the franchise. The game is available on PC via Steam and costs $7.99, so fans of the series should hop to it and start scaring themselves with animatronic mascots.

Five Nights at Freddy's 4 Trailer (Credit: YouTube/Scott Cawthon)