Free Game Sound Effects & Music

The best places to find free sound effects and background music for your video games. Every resource here is free to use — just check the license.

Site SFX Music No Credit? Commercial?
Freesound✓—varies✓
ZapSplat✓✓varies✓
OpenGameArt✓✓varies✓
Kenney Audio✓—✓ CC0✓
Pixabay Music—✓✓✓
Incompetech—✓CC-BY✓
Bfxr✓—✓✓
Sonniss GDC✓—✓✓
Sound Effects
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Freesound
Huge community library with over 500,000 sounds — explosions, footsteps, UI clicks, ambient environments, and everything in between. Filter by CC0 to find sounds that need no credit. Free account required to download. License varies per sound, so always check before using in a published game.
Sound Effects CC0 Available Mixed Licenses Free Account
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ZapSplat
Over 100,000 free sound effects and music tracks. A free account unlocks downloads. Wide variety — game SFX, foley sounds, ambience, UI sounds, and music. Commercial use is allowed with the free account (attribution required). A Pro account removes the attribution requirement entirely.
Sound Effects Music Free Tier Attribution Req.
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OpenGameArt Audio
The same community site as the game art resource — filtered for audio. Thousands of CC0 and CC-BY sound effects and music tracks contributed by game developers for game developers. Great for retro and chiptune sounds. Browse by license to find no-credit options.
Sound Effects Music CC0 Available Mixed Licenses
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Kenney Game Audio
The same Kenney that makes legendary free game art also offers free CC0 audio packs. Impact sounds, UI sounds, space audio, retro effects, and more. All public domain — no sign-up, no attribution. Consistent quality across all packs, just like the art.
Sound Effects CC0 Public Domain Free
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Sonniss GDC Audio Bundle
Every year at GDC, Sonniss releases a massive free bundle of professional game audio. Tens of thousands of high-quality sound effects from professional sound designers. Royalty-free for game projects — no attribution required. One of the best deals in game audio. Check the site each year for the latest release.
Sound Effects Royalty-Free Free Annual Bundle
Background Music
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Pixabay Music
Free music tracks with a simplified license — no attribution required and commercial use allowed. Browse by mood, genre, or tempo. Covers chiptune, electronic, orchestral, ambient, upbeat, and more. Great for game menus, levels, and cutscenes. No sign-up needed to download.
Music No Credit Needed Commercial OK Free
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Free Music Archive
Curated collection of Creative Commons-licensed music. Filter by genre and license. Many CC0 tracks available. Great for finding indie, chiptune, electronic, and ambient music for games. Artists contribute from around the world — you'll find hidden gems across every genre.
Music CC0 Available Mixed Licenses Free
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Incompetech — Kevin MacLeod
Kevin MacLeod has composed hundreds of royalty-free tracks used in thousands of indie games and YouTube videos. CC-BY license — you must credit Kevin MacLeod and filmmusic.io. Genres include adventure, suspense, chiptune, orchestral, jazz, and more. A beloved institution in the indie game world.
Music CC-BY (Credit Req.) Commercial OK Free
Make Your Own Audio
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Bfxr
Free browser-based retro sound effect generator. Click buttons to randomize 8-bit style SFX — laser, explosion, jump, pickup, powerup, hit. Export as WAV. Perfect for game jams and retro pixel games. No account needed. The quickest way to generate a full set of sound effects for your game in minutes.
SFX Generator Retro / 8-bit Free Tool
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ChipTone
Free online chiptune sound effect generator with more control than Bfxr and a clean visual interface. Shape the waveform, add vibrato, set the envelope. Great for generating retro game sounds: explosions, lasers, jumps, coins, and more. Export as WAV. Built by SFB Games.
SFX Generator Chiptune Free Tool
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Audacity
Free, open-source audio editor for recording, editing, mixing, and exporting audio files. Trim sound effects, adjust volume, add reverb or echo, convert between formats. Essential for customizing downloaded audio or recording your own. The free Photoshop equivalent for audio — used by podcasters, musicians, and game devs worldwide.
Audio Editor Free & Open Source
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Understanding Audio Licenses

Just like art assets, audio files come with licenses that determine how you can use them. Here are the most common ones:

  • CC0 (Public Domain) — Use for anything, commercial or not, with no credit required. The safest license. Kenney audio is all CC0.
  • CC-BY (Attribution) — Free to use in any project, including commercial games, but you must credit the creator. Usually a line in your game's credits screen is enough.
  • Royalty-Free — Pay once (or nothing) and use the audio indefinitely without ongoing payments. Does not always mean credit-free — check each license.
  • CC-BY-NC (NonCommercial) — Free with credit, but only for non-commercial projects. Do not use in a game you sell without upgrading the license.

Tip: For school projects and game jams, stick to CC0 audio. For published games, CC0 and CC-BY are both fine — just include credits for any CC-BY tracks.

Audio Formats for Games

WAV (Waveform Audio)

Uncompressed audio — high quality, larger file size. Best for short sound effects (jumps, explosions, UI clicks) where low latency matters. Both Unity and Godot handle WAV well for SFX.

OGG Vorbis

Compressed audio format — smaller file size, nearly indistinguishable quality. The preferred format for background music in games. Godot recommends OGG for music because it streams efficiently and loops cleanly. Unity also supports OGG.

MP3

Widely known but not ideal for games. MP3 files have a small silence gap at the start and end that makes looping imperfect. Use OGG instead wherever possible.

Tips for Using Audio in Your Game

  • Balance your volumes — Music should sit below sound effects. A good starting mix: music at 30–50% volume, SFX at 70–100%.
  • Loop your music cleanly — Pick tracks that loop without a noticeable gap or beat drop. OGG format handles loops better than MP3.
  • Vary your SFX — Playing the exact same sound every time gets annoying fast. Consider having 2–3 slight variations of jump or hit sounds and picking one randomly.
  • Don't skip audio — Sound design makes games feel 10x more polished. Even simple retro SFX from Bfxr makes a huge difference.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use free music and sound effects in my game?

Yes — but always check the specific license for each asset. CC0 audio can be used with no credit in any project. CC-BY audio requires you to credit the creator, usually in your game's credits screen.

What is royalty-free audio?

Royalty-free means you pay once (or nothing) and can use the audio forever without paying ongoing royalties. It does not necessarily mean credit-free — always check the specific license terms.

What audio formats work in Unity and Godot?

Unity supports WAV, MP3, OGG, AIFF, and more. Godot prefers OGG Vorbis for background music and WAV for short sound effects. Avoid MP3 in games — it has a small silence gap that breaks looping.

What is the difference between sound effects and music?

Sound effects are short clips triggered by events — a jump, explosion, coin, or button click. Music is longer background audio that loops while the player is in a menu or level. Both are essential for making your game feel alive.

How do I add sound to my Pygame game?

Use pygame.mixer.Sound('sound.wav') to load a sound and .play() to trigger it. For background music, use pygame.mixer.music.load('music.ogg') and pygame.mixer.music.play(-1) to loop it indefinitely.

What is CC0 audio?

CC0 (Creative Commons Zero) means the creator has waived all rights. You can use CC0 audio in any project — commercial or not, with or without modification — and no credit is required. It is the most permissive license available.