History of Friday Night Funkin' in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: March 29, 2025

Friday Night Funkin' is a rhythm-based game developed by Funkin' Crew Inc. and released on Newgrounds in 2020. Developed by a small team including ninjamuffin99, PhantomArcade, Kawai Sprite, and evilsk8r, the game is open-source and draws inspiration from games like Dance Dance Revolution and Flash games. Its gameplay involves hitting notes in time with the music. The game has been credited with boosting the popularity of Newgrounds.

October 5, 2020: Ludum Dare 47 Game Jam

On October 5, 2020, Friday Night Funkin' was initially created for the Ludum Dare 47 game jam.

October 2020: Development Begins for Ludum Dare 47

In October 2020, ninjamuffin99 started working on a game for the Ludum Dare 47 game jam, enlisting evilsk8r and PhantomArcade for their game development experience. Kawai Sprite joined to create the game's music. The game was quickly developed using a flash-to-haxe pipeline.

November 1, 2020: Expanded Demo Release

On November 1, 2020, an expanded demo of Friday Night Funkin' was released, and updates were continually released in the following months.

November 2020: Popularity Surge After Second Demo Update

In November 2020, Friday Night Funkin' experienced a surge in popularity following its second demo update, becoming popular due to its catchy music, unique art style, and engaging gameplay. The game's open-source nature also fostered an active modding community.

2020: Friday Night Funkin' Release

In 2020, Friday Night Funkin', a rhythm video game developed by Funkin' Crew Inc., was released on Newgrounds. The game, created by Cameron "ninjamuffin99" Taylor, David "PhantomArcade" Brown, Isaac "Kawai Sprite" Garcia, and evilsk8r, features gameplay inspired by Dance Dance Revolution, PaRappa the Rapper, and Club Penguin, with a Flash game aesthetic. It is also open-source.

April 2021: Kickstarter Launch Announcement

In April 2021, the developers of Friday Night Funkin' announced plans to launch a Kickstarter project later in the month to fund the full game's development.