THE creator of the video game series Five Nights at Freddy's has "retired" amid reports he donated cash to Donald Trump's and Mitch McConnell's campaigns.
Scott Cawthon, 42, said he had had a "blessed, fulfilling and rich career" in a post to million of fans announcing his retirement from professional gaming.
" I was in my mid-30s when I created the series and now I’m approaching my mid-40s," Cawthorn wrote on his personal website.
"I realize that I miss a lot of things that I got to focus on before Five Nights at Freddy’s became such a success.
"I miss making games for my kids, I miss doing it just for fun, and I miss making RPGs even though I stink at it.
"All of this is to say that I am retiring.”
The game developer has come under increasing scrutiny after financial reports showed he had made donations to the former US president's campaigns, who was kicked off Twitter for his involvement in the January 6 insurrections on the Capitol.
The documents also showed the Cawthorn donated sums of cash to Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell.
The gaming heavyweight hit back at claims he was supporting politicians bent on curbing LGBTQ+ rights, a section of society that form a chunk of the his fan base.
“I’m a Republican. I’m a Christian. I’m pro-life. I believe in God,” he wrote in a now-locked Reddit thread.
"I also believe in equality, and in science, and in common sense.
"Despite what some may say, all of those things can go together. That’s not an apology or promise to change, it’s the way it’s always been."
The 42-year-old Texan is the mastermind behind one of the most successful gaming franchises in recent years.
His watershed creation, Five Nights at Freddy's, is set release its ninth instalment this year.
The game rose to notoriety in 2014 and has been labelled by some as "the scariest game in years" – a title that's seen it top iOS and Android app charts and rack up million of views on YouTube.
The Five Nights at Freddy's series puts you in the role of a security guard that keeps watch at night at a local pizza place.
Your goal is to stay alive for five days and fend off weapon-wielding animals that are bent on killing you.
Cawthorn will be handing over the reins of the gaming empire, but is yet to announce who will be taking over.
A new installment in the long-running series, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach, is expected to come out later this year and a movie is in production.
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