| “ | It was going to be mine. It was all going to be mine. My discovery! My recognition! I was the one who paved the Golden Path. | ” |
| — Harley Sawyer, Chapter 4: Safe Haven | ||
The Golden Path was some sort of project or goal in relation to Playtime Co.'s Bigger Bodies Initiative.
It has been referenced in the Interactable and Icepick ARGs, Chapter 4: Safe Haven and in the Character Bios from the Poppy Playtime Merch Store. The Doctor was the one behind the Golden Path, working on the project both before and after The Hour of Joy. However, he was infuriated that he never got the credit for it.
Theorizing[]
- Some believe that the Golden Path was Playtime Co.'s experimentation itself, and that this was simply a fancy name for it.
- Another theory is that the Golden Path is the discovery of immortality through the Bigger Bodies experiments. It's known that The Doctor craved to be immortal thanks to the Phase 2: Incineration Launch Trailer, in which he says things such as "Mortality is the curse of the weak". And he claimed in an email from the Icepick ARG that his desire was the Golden Path, which aligns very well.
- Since the Character Bios mentions that sometime after The Hour of Joy, the Golden Path was seemingly within The Doctor's reach, this could very well mean that the cryptic project that's discussed in the "Time" VHS tape, which also took place after The Hour of Joy, could actually be the Golden Path itself.
- One of the death messages in Chapter 4 reads: "MY KINGDOM IS FOREVER. FOLLOW THE GOLDEN PATH". If this death screen is a message from The Prototype (which it most certainly is), then that would prove that the Golden Path is also a goal of his.
Trivia[]
Ever since the Chapter 4 Icepick ARG began, the Golden Path has started becoming more prevalent in the franchise, even being mentioned in Chapter 4 itself.
Gallery[]
"Experiment 1188 aims to leverage prior successes in accordance with our golden path forward."
The "gold3n path" password used in the Chapter 3 Interactable ARG.
The Doctor's desire for the Golden Path.
"In the years since the Hour of Joy, the Doctor has become a monster unburdened by any pretense of humanity, the final steps on his “golden path” seemingly within his reach."
Golden Path death screen.