Golden Freddy (FNAF)

Golden Freddy (referred to as Yellow Bear in the first game's files) is one of the five antagonists and a special animatronic in Five Nights at Freddy's.

He is a secret, golden version of Freddy Fazbear who appears in The Office after a certain sequence of events are triggered.

Appearance
Golden Freddy appears as a golden/yellow color variation of Freddy Fazbear with missing eyes. His hat and bow tie appear to be tinted dark blue, as opposed to Freddy's black ones, though this may be a result of lighting. Upon closer inspection, a microphone can be seen laying on his right palm, as well as two pinprick white dot-like pupils within his otherwise empty eye sockets.

His paws/hands are facing palms up. It is also possible that there is an endoskeleton in the suit. If one looks at the arms, a few wires/parts of the endoskeleton are visible, which share the same coloration as his accessories. His jaw hangs open and his head is tilted to the right. He is also presented in a sitting, slouched position, as if he were dead.

Behavior
When checking CAM 2B, the player will see a poster on the wall. It can switch between three different versions: a normal picture of Freddy, a distorted version (in which he appears to rip off his own head), or a close-up of Golden Freddy's face. While this picture of him is being viewed, a young girl's laugh can be heard. If the player sees the Golden Freddy poster and then switches back to The Office, Golden Freddy will be waiting for them. His appearance causes different images to flash on screen for split seconds, along with the words "IT'S ME". Golden Freddy will wait idly for few seconds before killing the player, causing a crash that forcibly closes the game.

Unlike all of the other animatronics in the game, Golden Freddy does not give any indication of approach or arrival within The Office. He completely disregards the doors, appearing whether they are open or closed. Unlike the other animatronics, the screen will be covered by a static image of Golden Freddy's face upon attack, akin to the images that flash during Mike Schmidt's hallucinations.

The moment the player sees him, the player must bring up the Monitor before Golden Freddy kills the player. Doing so will cause him to disappear, thus preventing death and a game crash.

Alternatively, the player can avoid him entirely by simply not looking at the West Hall Corner camera poster (CAM 2B), which will prevent him from being summoned in the first place. However, this may prove difficult, as players may be tempted to watch this particular corner in case Bonnie is making a move toward The Office.

Theories

 * There is a common theory that Mike Schmidt may be hallucinating Golden Freddy, as Golden Freddy only appears if the player glances at said poster and returns to normal view. This is also emphasized by Golden Freddy not being a part of the Custom Night's A.I. Customization. Also, Golden Freddy seems to have hand prints on his face similar to the ones on Freddy's face, further supporting the idea that it may be a twisted hallucination of Freddy. Furthermore, when he appears in The Office, there is no reflection of him in the monitor screens, like there normally are when any animatronic is in The Office. Plus, when the player is killed by Golden Freddy, the game does not show a game over screen; it simply crashes.
 * Some speculate that Phone Guy was stuffed into Golden Freddy's suit after Night 4's message. This is mainly because Golden Freddy's killscreen soundbyte can be heard just before the message cuts off.
 * It is thought that the costume itself is an older, possibly original version of the current Freddy Fazbear costume. It is also thought to be yellow/gold due to aging and deterioration.
 * There is a theory that states Golden Freddy is actually Fredbear from the first restaurant, Fredbear's Family Diner, which is mentioned in the second game.
 * It is possible that the endoskeleton in the Backstage might be Golden Freddy's, though it may also just be another spare endoskeleton.
 * It is possible that Golden Freddy is the suit used during The Missing Children Incident. This would explain his lifeless behavior, due to him being a costume with no person or endoskeleton in it.
 * It is also possible that the Kitchen is Golden Freddy's starting location. However, Cheat Mode in Mobilemay debunk this as Golden Freddy isn't shown in the Kitchen, but this may be just to add to his mysterious traits.

Golden Freddy FNAF 2
Golden Freddy also makes an appearance in Five Nights at Freddy's 2, playing a more active role. He is also referred to officially as Golden Freddy on the Custom Night screen, where he is now one of the characters whose difficulty settings may be altered.

Appearance
Rather than being a simple recolor of Freddy, Golden Freddy now has a unique model of his own. He appears to be in a decrepit state, much like the other original animatronics, with a missing left ear, and a good deal of damage with loose wires and exposed parts. Also similar to the other original animatronics, he now has upper teeth, wires are coming out of his empty sockets and shoulders, and small bits of the suit are faded and ripped. His arms and legs seem darker than the rest of his body. He seems to be more visibly clutching his microphone rather than having it lay on his palm.

Unlike his appearance in the first game, he seems much shorter, his hat looks to be completely black, his irises are not visible (as he does not seem to have eyes at all), and he appears to have no bow tie, though it is possible his lower jaw may be blocking it from view. His head is noticeably thinner than Freddy's.

Behavior
Golden Freddy will only become an active character on Night 6 and the Custom Night if he is enabled. It is currently unknown where (if anywhere) he starts from in the pizzeria. At random, Golden Freddy can instantly appear inThe Office or the hall j

ust outside, slumped in a similar position to the one he had in the first game, or simply as a ghostly head floating in the distance, respectively.

Shortly afterwards, his body will vanish, only for his head to rush at the player and kill them if they do nothing to counter him. To avoid being killed by Golden Freddy, the player must either equip the Freddy Fazbear Head immediatelyupon spotting him in The Office, or turn off the Flashlight while he's in the hallway. (He can attack the player from the hallway, and will do so if the player observes him for too long.)

If the player is in the Monitor for a period of time, there is a 60% chance that Golden Freddy will appear in The Office, unless another animatronic is present.

On the Custom Night, when only Golden Freddy is set to 20, he will occasionally just sit still and not fade away if he appears in The Office. This is unlikely to happen, but it has been reported. As long as the player does not flash the light or put on the mask, he will remain where he is in The Office, until Foxy or The Puppet attacks the player.

Unlike in the first game, Golden Freddy in Five Nights at Freddy's 2 does not crash the game after killing the player.

Trivia

 * Oddly, Golden Freddy's hat is tilted slightly to the left when attacking. It also appears to be tilted when he is sitting in The Office, though harder to see due to the orientation of his head.
 * This may just be his hat shifting to the side, as Freddy's hat has been shown to be detachable inParts/Service.
 * Golden Freddy is even more detached from reality than in the last game, as he visibly fades out of existence when encountered in-game and spends most of his time floating around as a disembodied head.
 * It is confirmed by Phone Guy on Night 6 that Golden Freddy is indeed the suit that the murderer used to lure the missing children backstage to kill them, as noted in The Missing Children Incident. This is unusual, as Golden Freddy's updated appearance emphasizes his mechanical nature (wires, parts of his endoskeleton, etc.) and, beyond removing the skeleton itself, the murderer could not have used it in such a state.
 * Despite this, it is safe to assume that the Golden Freddy encountered in Five Nights at Freddy's is still a hallucination on Mike Schmidt's part, seeing as it is still in perfect condition and seems to lack an endoskeleton. It can be assumed that the original Golden Freddy costume from Five Nights at Freddy's 2 was destroyed alongside the new animatronics after the game's ending.
 * However, it's heavily implied through flashbacks that another animatronic was responsible for the murder.
 * It is possible that the Golden Freddy seen in Five Nights At Freddy's 2 is an empty suit, as Phone Guy does mention that the suits are full of "wires and crossbeams," which could explain why Golden Freddy still has wires coming out of him. The visible mechanical parts could simply be part of the suit, with the endoskeleton/person inside "elevated" due to the feet being solid metal and the suit being held up by metal joints. This is somewhat supported by the fact that the suits (especially Golden Freddy's) appear to be larger than the endoskeletons themselves.
 * In the beginning of the Five Nights at Freddy's 2 trailer, one of the children's drawings depicts Golden Freddy with the endoskeleton eyes appearing to perform a song.
 * This same drawing appears in The Office to the right of the room, above the Right Air Vent.
 * This might support the possibility that Golden Freddy is still in use after the new Freddy Fazbear's Pizza opened, at least before he was scrapped alongside the other old animatronics.
 * He is the only animatronic to feature only his head/face as a jumpscare - this applies to both games.
 * In addition, unlike all other enemy animatronics and the bare endoskeleton met in thehallucinations, and similarly to Shadow Bonnie and Shadow Freddy from the same hallucinations, he never moves any of his body parts. Even his jumpscare from the second game shows only his floating and otherwise immobile head which does not even change its angle, at least in the guard's eyes.
 * A costume-less endoskeleton can be seen throughout the game, most commonly in the Prize Corner(standing in front of the present box) and in the Left Air Vent. Many speculate this is Golden Freddy's endoskeleton, primarily because it shares many attributes with the regular Freddy, though it is generally considered a hallucination like Golden Freddy himself.
 * Raising the Monitor will no longer prevent Golden Freddy from killing the player.
 * Golden Freddy's jumpscare no longer causes the game to crash.
 * As seen on mobile, Golden Freddy will disappear immediately (instead of smoothly vanishing) after putting the Freddy Head on.
 * In the Give Gifts, Give Life Death Minigame, a fifth child corpse appears in the center of the room for an instant, before being obscured by Golden Freddy's jumpscare animation.
 * This could indicate that the fifth child was stuffed in Golden Freddy's suit, possibly after the murderer was finished using it. This is supported by the stink lines emanating from Golden Freddy's mouth in the children's drawings.
 * In the SAVETHEM Death Minigame, Golden Freddy appears in different rooms at random.
 * Golden Freddy's name was conjectural until Five Nights at Freddy's 2, where his name was shown on the game's Custom Night screen. Until then, his name was "Yellow Bear" in the game files.
 * Interestingly, he is still referred to as "Yellow Bear" in the game's code, despite receiving an official name.
 * Although Golden Freddy is generally accepted to be a hallucination, Golden Freddy's A.I. is physically tampered with by Fritz Smith on the second game's Custom Night. This seems to tie into the above theory of the Golden Freddy seen in the second game being physical instead of merely a hallucination.
 * In the Mobile version, when viewing the monitors and lowering them again, if Golden Freddy is in The Office, he moves a little bit to the left and starts vanishing.
 * Golden Freddy's kill sound in Five Nights at Freddy's 2 is slightly louder and sharper than all of the other animatronic sounds.
 * Golden Freddy is one of three of Freddy Fazbear's counterparts, the other being Toy Freddy and Shadow Freddy.
 * Golden Freddy does not disable the Flashlight when he enters or leaves The Office hallway.
 * The only place where Golden Freddy is seen standing is in the Night 3 cutscene. His appearance also seemingly corresponds to the one from the first game, including both of his ears and his bow-tie.
 * Golden Freddy is one of the few animatronics that does not appear in the air vents; four others are Freddy Fazbear, Toy Freddy, Foxy, and The Puppet.
 * Golden Freddy is one of the six animatronics who does not trigger the alert ambience in select situations, with the others being Mangle, Bonnie, BB, The Puppet, and Toy Chica.
 * Golden Freddy does not activate the alarm at all, further supporting the theory of him being a hallucination.
 * Golden Freddy is one of the three animatronics not shown in the trailer, two others are The Puppet and Toy Chica.
 * He and The Puppet, however, are shown on drawings in the opening scene, and Toy Chica is shown on various posters throughout the trailer.
 * Golden Freddy is the only old animatronic not to have his endoskeleton teeth visible, even though he shows signs of possessing an endoskeleton.
 * Golden Freddy is the only old animatronic to not get a toy counterpart in the second game.
 * There is a rare glitch where Golden Freddy can appear in The Office, and if the player immediately brings up the Monitor, then his sprite will appear on the camera.
 * On 10/20 mode in the mobile version, Golden Freddy may sometimes kill the player without appearing in The Office or the hallway. It is unknown if this is a glitch or not.
 * Golden Freddy can rarely appear in Night 2. See here at 4:24.
 * Golden Freddy can appear in The Office and in the hallway simultaneously as proven by at 7:50.