All of the format changes story and gameplay wise are almost certainly Scott invoking this trope to please the fans who were concerned that this franchise was becoming bland, repetitive, and by the numbers.
When the game was released, it was criticized for character stats, levels, and moves not being immediately clear (or even present) to the player. Scott later admitted that he released the game too early, and updated the game to include such features. A few days later, he removed it from Steam and offered refunds, and announced that he was going to be re-releasing the game for free once the game's issues were fixed. At this point, it's now up on GameJolt, with Update 2 adding some post-game content.
The Custom Night update expands on the Private Room's gameplay to provide an experience more in line with classic FNaF gameplay for those who preferred that style. It also clears up some plot ambiguities left at the end of the main campaign, though depending on who you ask it may have only created further ambiguities.
Thanks to some very open-ended dialogue and scene direction, many fans were confused over whether or not the Purple Guy was literally purple due to being undead, or if Michael Afton is destined to go to the first Freddy's location and become Springtrap, and not his father as was previously assumed. The debate was largely quelled by Scott after he approved of aGame Theory video that addresses it (even citing those examples). For the curious, the Purple Guy isn't literally purple, and Springtrap is still William.
The September 2019 update added the Withered animatronics to the games Five Nights at Freddy's 2 section, appeasing those who were disappointed at them not being included in the game.
The Valentine's Day update in early February 2020 addressed two fairly substantial fan complaints.
Toy Chica was officially added to the roster and is now available year-round, addressing complaints about her being an event-only animatronic. This also keeps the Freddy Fazbear Head, which is only usable on her, Toy Bonnie, Toy Freddy, and Mangle, active throughout the game. The same would later be done for Toy Bonnie and Toy Freddy as well, and then Mangle, Ballora, and Plushtrap, with Golden Freddy and Funtime Freddy being added as available by default.
Arguably the biggest complaint about the game was that there was no in-game way to earn Fazcoins other than through the daily rewards (only available during events) and buying them with real money. This update added the ability to obtain free Fazcoins by watching ads, making it easier to fully experience the game without spending a cent on it.
After months of people complaining that the map screen was an Underused Game Mechanic, the Halloween 2020 update heavily retooled the map system to be more akin to something like Pokémon GO, making it more interactive and relevant to gameplay.
Steel Wool has acknowledged complaints about the bugs and glitches, and are working on a patch update. Though many of the problems were left in after the 2/28/22 patch, one of the single largest complaints was addressed - a save point now spawns in the Atrium after 6 AM, making it much less painful to reach each of the various endings in one playthrough.
Intentional or not, the third volume addresses some of the complaints people had about the previous ones. As detailed under Broken Base, a number of fans weren't happy with the more explicitly supernatural elements being added in the first two volumes; 1:35 AM, meanwhile, takes a step back towards the series' roots and keeps the horror firmly within Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane territory (with the exception of the Epilogue and the Gainax Ending of "The New Kid"). The third volume also addresses a criticism some had toward the second volume, that being that it focused too heavily on new animatronics like Fetch and Lonely Freddy, with Plushtrap being the only returning face. This volume, by contrast, has all three of its animatronic villains be returning characters; "The New Kid" in particular sees the return of Golden Freddy/Fredbear, who didn't make any significant appearances in the lastthreemain games.
As detailed under Broken Base, a number of fans were disappointed by the revelation that William Afton was once again the Big Bad responsible for the vast majority of the supernatural horror in the book series, feeling the character had worn out his welcome. Epilogue 7 addresses these complaints by having William seemingly Killed Off for Real (at least in this continuity) in one of one of the most badass moments in the franchise, as well as ending on the ominous revelation that William was only able to manifest in his Amalgamation form because something even worse than him was lending him power. Epilogue 10 follows up on this, giving us official confirmation — via a truly spectacularContinuity Cavalcade — that Eleanor was the one truly responsible for the events of most of the stories and is now set to be the books' ultimate Big Bad.
to address the many memes concerning how complex and confusing the lore was at that point. While enjoying them, he acknowledged the fandom's confusion and promised that Five Nights at Freddy's: Fazbear Frights would answer some of the more burning questions of the old lore, since future games that were in development at the time would be focusing on telling a new story.