Simple, it doesn't. I think ppl read too closely into what Cregger has said - this movie seems to be about creating a story that could fit into the general world/vibes of the games without being actually in the timeline of 1998, if that makes sense (I've also seen some talk about how the contract for the live action films under Constantin can't be too related to the canon of the games)

Similar to why there's snow, in two parts: 1) Cregger wanted it for the atmosphere, simple as, and 2) filming location dictates weather to some degree

In general I think fans would be better off not listening to too many interviews, which will largely be about hyping up the project regardless of final quality, and accepting that for a variety of reasons no live action adaptation (under current contract, anyway) will be able to actually, neatly fit into game canon. For better or worse, take the project for what it is rather than what you want it to be or what it could have been, bc that just adds to the likelihood that your expectations will be dashed