Scott Cawthon was born in 1978. Details about his early childhood are relatively scarce, but it is known that he developed an early interest in computer animation and game development, setting the stage for his future career pursuits.

Cawthon began his career creating Christian-themed animation and video games. Titles such as 'Pilgrim's Progress' and 'Chipper and Sons Lumber Co.' showcase his early programming skills and storytelling ambitions, albeit within a specific niche.

Cawthon released 'Chipper & Sons Lumber Co.', an indie game, which received criticism for its animatronic-like character designs, with some critics finding them unintentionally creepy. This critique, surprisingly, served as the catalyst for his most famous creation.

Drawing inspiration from the criticism of 'Chipper & Sons Lumber Co.', Cawthon released 'Five Nights at Freddy's' on August 8, 2014. This indie survival horror game, with its unique gameplay mechanics and chilling atmosphere, quickly gained immense popularity due to its spread through Let's Plays and word of mouth.

Following the massive success of the first game, Cawthon rapidly produced sequels and spin-offs, expanding the 'Five Nights at Freddy's' universe with new characters, lore, and gameplay mechanics. This period saw the release of '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', 'Five Nights at Freddy's 6: Pizzeria Simulator' and 'Ultimate Custom Night', cementing the franchise's status as a cultural phenomenon.

Cawthon partnered with Illumix to develop and release 'Five Nights at Freddy's AR: Special Delivery,' an augmented reality game that brought the animatronics into players' real-world environments. This demonstrated Cawthon's willingness to experiment with new technologies and expand the franchise into different media.

In June 2021, Scott Cawthon announced his retirement from publicly developing games. This decision came after controversy arose regarding his political donations, leading to online backlash and doxxing. He cited a desire to spend more time with his family as a primary reason for stepping down, though the controversy undoubtedly played a role.

While Cawthon retired from active game development, he has remained involved in the 'Five Nights at Freddy's' franchise in a behind-the-scenes capacity. He entrusted the future development of the games and other media projects to other studios, ensuring the continuation of the series while he focused on other priorities. The FNAF movie was released in October 2023 and did very well in the box office.