When Chapter 3 of Poppy Playtime comes out, it could be best if it's the end of the series. It's unknown when exactly Chapter 3 will release or what it will entail, but from hints in Ch. 2, it would appear that answers are coming for many of the games' mysteries, such as how and why people were transformed into monstrous toys within the Playtime Co. factory. The developers may want to move on to other projects and leave Poppy Playtime behind, instead of continuing the series into the foreseeable future.
As they explore the abandoned toy factory, players' ultimate goal is to discover what happened to Poppy Playtime's Playtime Co. employees. Over time, it becomes evident that they were used for twisted human experiments that turned them into monstrous toys, the process for which was partially revealed in Chapter 2. It's also revealed that children were used for the experiments, orphans among them, which makes them even worse. The end of Ch. 2 teased an area of the factory known as Playcare as the setting of Ch. 3, and it may be where players will finally see exactly what happened to the employees, and how the toys were created first-hand.
Theoretically, Poppy Playtime could go on for quite some time. Its popularity has only grown, and if a Five Nights at Freddy's-style Poppy Playtime fanverse initiative were to ever happen, fan games could keep the series alive long after MOB Games ceases work on it. However, few game series can last forever, and although Poppy Playtime is fun and intriguing, it may not enjoy the longevity that household names like Pokémon do. Ending after Chapter 3 could be best for it for a few different reasons.
Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 Should End The Series
After a third entry, some game and movie series tend to run out of steam, grow stale, or fall out of the public eye. If Poppy Playtime Ch. 3 fixes previous chapters' problems like their similar story, future ones could do well, but with each release it runs the risk of repetition. An open-ended Chapter 3 that could be interpreted as either a definitive ending or a setup for a fourth chapter could be a good way for MOB Games to gauge players' interest in future entries.
However, it may be best if Poppy Playtime ended after Chapter 3 for its own sake. Extending the series too far could result in convoluted plots that border on the ridiculous. Once the mysteries that Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 introduced are solved, new themes and plot points would be be necessary, and they might not be a change for the better. If the player becomes a toy in Poppy Playtime, for example, it risks changing the dynamic of the games in a way that it may not be able to walk back.
If Poppy Playtime does go beyond three chapters, then it would do well to tread carefully and learn from other indie games. It's heavily influenced by FNAF, and part of the reason that FNAF has been able to last so long is its deep and complicated lore that's spread out over a long period of time. Poppy Playtime may not be able to replicate that, however, especially since it seems to be revealing more of its secrets than FNAF did in its early stages. Poppy Playtime's classic-toy-inspired monsters can only take it so far; in order to last, it needs to keep its players captivated without revealing all of its secrets too quickly.
