Within the FNaF community, dozens of fangames appear every year. Yet few manage to attract as much attention as Chomper’s. The project promised a combination of free movement, complex atmosphere, and highly detailed animatronics. But everything came to an abrupt—and painful—end. What exactly happened?
Thanks to testimonies from several developers, it’s possible to reconstruct not only the rise and fall of the project but also the atmosphere that prevailed within the team.
The project was led by Ultranite, who had a clear ambition: to create a fangame featuring free-roam mechanics. He assembled a team of artists, modelers, and programmers to bring his vision to life.
One of the artists, wewa, noted:
“His vision was creative but often unclear. Communication was difficult, especially because of the language barriers between teams.”
The game went through several different engines — Clickteam, Unity, and Unreal Engine were all considered. It was supposed to include boss fights, free movement, and mini-games.
According to the lead programmer, Yu Ro:
“There were ideas for boss fights; some characters were supposed to have unique attacks. But the code wasn’t preserved—everything was in his hands.”
After the project collapsed, the servers were deleted. Only a few models and artworks survived, preserved by contributors such as Mr. Nobo, who, together with others, managed to save fragments of what they had worked on.
One of the most striking accounts comes from Maribuns, an artist who created the project’s banner:
“I only made that banner, which was used for a week. Then no one told me anything, and I was replaced. I wasn’t even added to the team or group.”
She added:
“I hoped I’d get something for it since it was a big project, but in the end, I got nothing.”
Working with Ultranite was not easy. As Maribuns recalls:
“From what I heard from others, he wasn’t good to work with. Personally, what bothered me most was that he never told me anything and replaced my banner without a word.”
Programmer Yu Ro shared an absurd memory:
“He once started crying when he found out that the Chuck E. animatronics were being dismantled. He also insisted that the characters’ feet be modeled in full detail, even though they would never be visible in the game.”
This led to suspicions of questionable motives:
“There was this strange obsession with the animatronics’ feet. Some people started to see it as a fetish, but we all kept quiet about it.”
Everything collapsed after what the developers call the ‘Pear Incident’ — an event during which Ultranite and others reportedly spied on and sabotaged rival fan projects in an attempt to make their own games look better and more prominent, hoping to get into the Fazbear Fanverse Initiative. Among the targeted and leaked projects was POPGOES Evergreen, which Ultranite mockingly referred to as POPGOES Nevergreen.
According to Yu Ro:
“Once that whole thing came out, everything fell apart. The server vanished instantly. And that was it.”
This server served as the main communication channel for Ultranita and his team. This server was apparently private, to such an extent that many team members had no idea about it or were simply not added to it.
This raises the issue of so-called ghost devs. These people were developers who communicated only through Ultranita himself and were never credited for their work. For this reason, we still do not know many of the names and people who actually worked on the project.
The most prominent group are the screenwriters. They are a huge question mark, and to this day, the real authors are unknown.
The Chomper’s project had real potential. But what remained was a bitter aftertaste. It wasn’t just an unfinished game—it was a story of toxic leadership, unclear communication, and disillusioned developers.
Still, it’s worth remembering the project—not just as a cautionary tale for future teams, but also as proof that even great ideas mean nothing without healthy collaboration behind them.
As mentioned earlier, thanks to some developers, a few materials from the game were saved. Let’s go through the most interesting ones and see what the game was—and what it was meant to be.
Like every game, Chomper’s went through several development phases, which also affected the state of the preserved materials. Let’s begin with what can be identified as the earliest stage. This example of an old model can be linked to a sketch made during the game’s early concept phase.
The main 3D modeler, Mr. Nobo, explained:
“That must’ve been from some really old version that existed before I even met Ultranite, so I have no idea.”
This confirms that the model most likely comes from one of the first iterations of Chomper, when the game was still in its infancy.
Next comes the period when the game was being developed in Clickteam. A large number of models and sketches were produced during this stage. However, this period is hard to map out, mainly because much of the content was lost—probably when Ultranite deleted everything connected to him. Even so, a few model images and sketches from this version have survived.
This period then smoothly transitioned into a phase in which the project gradually took on its final form. We are now somewhere around the year 2021.During this period, the project underwent its biggest transformation as it gradually evolved into a 3D free-roam title.
According to the information I have been able to obtain, none of these models have been preserved. However, it is very likely that this is not entirely true.
It is more than likely that the models are still somewhere, but they are probably in the possession of some members of the team from that period or Ultranit himself.
In both cases, it is almost impossible that these models will ever be made public.
Apparently, this era of the project is also one that was not supposed to take place in its own separate location. According to some statements made by some of the developers, it seems that this era was supposed to take place on a map that was essentially the FNaF 1 location.
The next and most well-known stage of development is also the most interesting. This is the phase in which the final 3D models and animatronic designs were used—designs that fans of the cancelled project would immediately recognize. It also corresponds to the period described earlier: one marked by growing problems, conflicts, and ultimately, the project’s cancellation.
A large part of the models and materials from this period have been preserved. This is mainly because it was a project on which a large team of people worked. Everyone had some information and materials stored on their computers somewhere.
Despite this, not everything could be preserved. A large amount of data was deleted by Ultranit itself when the project was canceled. The materials that were preserved are mostly things like finished renders and concept art. Even so, several character models and environments were successfully preserved.
While the main version of the game was being developed, a game called Chomping with Chomper was also in production. The game was intended to be a so-called teaser game. It was not supposed to be a huge undertaking. Rather, it was a smaller side game that was supposed to whet the appetite and prepare the ground for the main title.
However, this side game was not without its problems. Ultranite began to put significant pressure on the developers, giving them unrealistic deadlines or assigning them work that he then discarded. Another example of this is the testimony of one of the developers who received an unfinished version of the game and a very tight deadline with the instruction to finish the game himself.
Ultranite was simply not what you would call an ideal boss.
Even though the game was planned as a small side project, Ultranite began to turn it into another huge project. Work began on DLC that was to be called Food Fight. Several materials were actually created for the DLC, but before anything could be completed, the game met its end.
With the cancellation of the main game, this side game was also canceled.
However, there is also a canceled version of the game about which I have not been able to find much information. This version of the game probably dates from before 2021. However, the question arises as to where exactly this game belongs. This is one of the mysteries that I unfortunately cannot answer.
There is almost no information about the game, but it is probably something like a blind development phase.
The information above highlights major problems in communication and the overall functioning of the team. It also shows how not to lead a development group. Ultranite made mistakes that are hard to overlook, and it’s crucial that events like The Pear Incident never happen again.
It’s unfortunate that this controversy completely overshadowed the game itself. The project had incredible potential and beautiful, detailed visuals. Yet it ended—mainly because of Ultranite’s own missteps.
After speaking with several of the original developers, I can confidently say the game had a fascinating and unique history. It’s a shame that most of the public attention focused on the controversy rather than on what the project achieved creatively.
Criticizing Ultranite’s actions is easy—and unquestionably justified—but it’s also sad that his reputation dragged the game down with him. Still, the story of Chomper’s should serve as a lesson—and as a reminder to focus on the good that can emerge even from failed projects.
Finally, I want to thank all the original developers of Chomper’s, especially those who gave me their time and shared their materials and memories.
Vlkyc