Mike Schmidt

Michael Schmidt is the unseen main protagonist of the indie horror video game Five Nights at Freddy's. The game is played in first-person perspective.

Appearance

His appearance is never shown in gameplay, aside from the game over screen, which depicts his blue eyes sticking out of a Freddy suit.

History

Mike is a security guard employed by Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, working on a 7-night shift from midnight to 6 AM, until he was eventually fired. The game is played in the first-person perspective, through Mike's eyes.

Despite the low pay and clear danger, Mike continues his job every night for the rest of the week for unknown reasons. At the end of Night 5, Mike Schmidt receives a check for $120.

At the end of Night 6, he receives a comparatively minuscule check of $120.50, an increase of fifty cents. He also receives a note from his boss, stating that he has "earned some overtime!"

Upon completing the Custom Night, he receives a notice of termination, likely due to the in-game interaction right before said night, customizing the animatronics A.I. (which the notice describes as tampering with the animatronics).

Gallery

Mike's check.

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Trivia

• On Night 7, the reasons listed for his release are Tampering with the Animatronics, General Unprofessionalism, and Odor, believed to be in reference to his changing of the AI difficulty (Tampering), Panicking and possible screaming (General Unprofessionalism), and copious sweating, or release of bodily fluids, possibly due to the panicking (odor). It is also possible that the smell may be the decomposing remains of the former security guard, as he is in some sort of struggle with some of the animatronics in the telephone call.
• The date on Michael's check after the 6th night is November 13, which is Kindness Day.
  • Furthermore, paydays are commonly on Fridays. This means Michael's check is dated for Friday the 13th. This makes sense as this is a horror game and Friday the 13th, considered to be a very unlucky day, tends to be tied to horror franchises.
• Mike Schmidt only works for $4 per hour during his employment at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, which is lower than any American state's definition of minimum wage.
  • This can potentially be refuted since, in the U.S., federal income tax from 1988 to 2001 was 15% for whatever tax bracket Mike would be in with his $120.50 paycheck. Assuming 15% and that they took out income tax already before paying him, as most businesses do, Michael actually gets ~$141.18 (rounded to nearest cent), which results in a ~$4.71 hourly wage (again, rounded to nearest cent). That's just on federal income tax alone, not to mention state tax,which varies from state to state. Minimum wage was $4.25 from 1991-1995, $4.75 in 1996, and $5.15 from 1997-2006. If other taxes were taken out of his paycheck, it's easy enough to push the year this takes place in as far forward as 1996 and potentially to 2006. Assuming his payday was a Friday, this makes 1992 a viable year based on just federal income tax and minimum wage at the time. If further taxes were taken out, that might make 1998 viable as well, as further taxation only means he receives a higher base pay. Any Friday the 13th in November after 1998 is unlikely, as the next is in 2009 where his income tax bracket would have dropped to 10%, making the minimum wage, $7.25, too high for what he would be making.
• Mike Schmidt is heavily implied to by the same person as Michael Afton, the protagonist of Sister Location and Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, due to the reference book The Survival Logbook; it is depicted as having belonged to "Mike", who is confirmed to be Michael Afton due to Michael incuding illustrations referencing Sister Location. Given that the book is owned by Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, and Mike clearly worked a shift there, this seems to mean that Mike Schmidt and Michael Afton are one and the same.