Five Nights At Freddy's Age Rating Confusion

The ESRB doesn't seem to have reviewed FNAF to give it an age rating.

But here on this steam post, seems to be a breakdown of what the rating would be, and why. https://steamcommunity.com/app/319510/discussions/0/412447613570515249/#c412447613573825769

if the esrb rated this it would probably be "T" because the eyes on the game over screen would count as gore; the esrb doesn't take scariness into consideration as it is subjective: if a game has blood then that is a fact, but if it is scary then that is an opinion; since some people find the game scary but others don't, they would not take scariness into consideration; fnaf 3 would definitely get a T because and the esrb has a rule that any game with in it gets at least a T.

Common sense media also seems to go for a Teen rating https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/five-nights-at-freddys

But as the comment by @Ave said, kids will often play/watch stuff not caring about the rating. And it can be fine most of the time.

You know your kid; will jumpscares and a little bit of gore prevent him from sleeping at night, or will it be just fine?

Well, I would have to say that the game is complete nonsense. All you do is survive from 12:00 am to 6:00 am and try not to die from the animatronics that are roaming around as you are working. The game does not have any gore or blood, but it does have mature scenes like murder and all that stuff. I would recommend kids to be ages 12+ to be able to play the game.

Okay, FNaF's "Story" is not for kids (BTW the only way to actualy find the "Story" is to watch youtube or have a child who can spot anything and everything while being scared) but the game is fine, depending on if your child get's scared or not is the real question. I would recommend finding and buying the free game Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator as it is an official game (the only parts that are anything like the original games is on day 2 and night 2 inside the room where there are vents). If your child is under age 12 however I do not recommend these games or especially the VR version which is only purchasble and even scary with an actual VR headset.

FNAF is geared towards younger kids. I have played with my children since they were 9. It is jump scares for the most part. Someone hides in a dark restaurant and they jump out and scare you to death...no big deal. I have seen far worse in "Happy Wheels" as far as blood and gore is concerned. (look that one up, it is truly gory.) When we went Christmas shopping these last two years, some well named department stores had FNAF gear/ clothing for infants and moms. Honestly, they were cool.

You should let your kid play FNAF, it is not bad. Best age is 8-9+ for the jump scares, but that's it.