Free Game Audio Resources

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

Site SFX Music No Credit? Commercial?
Freesound✓✓varies✓
OpenGameArt✓✓varies✓
Kenney✓✓✓ CC0✓
SONNISS GDC✓—✓✓
Mixkit✓✓✓✓
itch.io Assets✓✓variesvaries
Incompetech—✓credit req.✓
ZapSplat✓✓credit req.✓
SoundImage—✓credit req.✓
Pixabay Audio✓✓✓✓
Sound Effects
🎵
Freesound
One of the largest free audio databases in the world. Over 600,000 sounds uploaded by a community of contributors. Search by keyword, filter by license (CC0, CC-BY, CC-BY-NC). Perfect for finding specific sound effects like footsteps, explosions, UI clicks, and ambient sounds.
Sound Effects CC0 Available Some CC-BY Free
🎮
SONNISS GameAudioGDC
Every year during GDC, SONNISS gives away a massive bundle of professional sound effects — typically 20+ GB of high-quality audio. All royalty-free, no attribution required, commercial use OK. The archive includes sounds from professional audio companies that normally charge hundreds of dollars.
Sound Effects No Credit Needed Free
🕹
Kenney Game Assets (Audio)
Kenney is legendary in the indie game dev community. Their audio packs include UI sounds, RPG effects, casino audio, sci-fi sounds, and more. Everything is CC0 (public domain) — use however you want, no credit required, even in commercial games.
Sound Effects CC0 Public Domain Free
⚡
Mixkit Game Sound Effects
Curated collection of free game sound effects. Categories include arcade, weapons, impacts, magic, nature, and UI. No attribution required. Clean, well-organized site that makes it easy to preview and download individual sounds.
Sound Effects No Credit Needed Free
💥
ZapSplat
Over 150,000 free sound effects and music tracks. Requires a free account to download. Free plan requires credit to ZapSplat; paid plans remove the attribution requirement. Great search and category system with lots of game-relevant sounds.
Sound Effects Music Credit Required (free)
Music & Background Tracks
🎧
Incompetech (Kevin MacLeod)
Hundreds of royalty-free music tracks by composer Kevin MacLeod. Search by genre (action, comedy, horror, fantasy) or by feel (dark, happy, epic). All tracks are CC-BY 3.0 — free to use with credit. Some of the most recognizable royalty-free music on the internet.
Music CC-BY (Credit) Free
🎼
SoundImage (Eric Matyas)
Over 2,000 free music tracks organized by genre: Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror, Puzzle, Looping, and more. Created by composer Eric Matyas, who has been providing free game music for over a decade. Attribution required. One of the best sources for background music loops.
Music Loops Credit Required Free
🎶
Bensound
High-quality royalty-free music tracks. The free license (CC-BY-ND 3.0) requires credit and no modifications to the music itself. Great for background music — genres include cinematic, electronic, acoustic, jazz, and more.
Music Credit Required Free Tier
🎸
Pixabay Music
Free music tracks and sound effects with a simplified license. No attribution required, commercial use allowed. Growing library with good search filters for mood, genre, and duration. Easy to use — just search and download.
Music Sound Effects No Credit Needed Free
Game Dev Asset Marketplaces
🍏
OpenGameArt
Community-driven site specifically for game development assets, including music, sound effects, and ambient audio. Filter by license (CC0, CC-BY, CC-BY-SA, GPL). Huge collection of chiptune, orchestral, and ambient tracks contributed by indie composers. Connected with Freesound and itch.io.
Sound Effects Music CC0 Available Mixed Licenses
🎲
itch.io Free Game Audio
itch.io's asset marketplace has thousands of free audio packs. Find chiptune collections, RPG music packs, ambient soundscapes, voice packs (500+ character voices), platformer bundles, and more. Licenses vary by creator — always check before publishing.
Sound Effects Music Loops Free Packs
Make Your Own
🔈
jsfxr (Online Sound Generator)
Generate retro-style sound effects right in your browser. Click buttons like "Pickup/Coin", "Laser/Shoot", "Explosion", "Powerup", "Hit/Hurt", or "Jump" to instantly create 8-bit and 16-bit style sounds. Tweak the parameters and export as WAV. Perfect for pixel art games and game jams.
Sound Effects Your Own Audio Free Tool
🎛
BeepBox
An online chiptune music composer. Create your own retro game music with an intuitive grid-based interface — no music theory required. Supports multiple channels, instruments, and export to WAV. Great for learning music composition while making game soundtracks.
Music Your Own Music Free Tool
🎤
Audacity
Free, open-source audio editor. Record your own sound effects with a microphone, edit downloaded sounds, trim audio, add effects (reverb, echo, pitch shift), convert formats (MP3, WAV, OGG), and more. Essential tool for any game developer working with audio.
Audio Editor Free & Open Source
Hackingtons500 coding competition

Made with love by your friends at Hackingtons

Understanding Audio Licenses for Games

Not all "free" audio is created equal. Here are the most common licenses you'll encounter:

  • CC0 (Public Domain) — Use for anything. No credit needed. No restrictions. The safest and most permissive license.
  • CC-BY (Attribution) — Free to use, but you must credit the creator. Usually a line in your game's credits is enough.
  • CC-BY-SA (ShareAlike) — Same as CC-BY, but if you remix or modify the audio, your version must also be shared under the same license.
  • CC-BY-NC (NonCommercial) — Free to use with credit, but only for non-commercial projects. You cannot sell a game using this audio.
  • Royalty-Free — Not a Creative Commons license. Means you don't pay per-use fees. Always read the specific terms — some royalty-free licenses still require attribution or limit usage.

Tip for students: When in doubt, use CC0 audio. You can use it for anything — school projects, game jams, or published games — without worrying about credits or restrictions.

Best Formats for Game Engines

WAV (Waveform Audio)

Uncompressed audio. Large file size but zero quality loss. Best for short sound effects (footsteps, button clicks, explosions) where you want instant playback with no decoding delay. Supported by Unity, Godot, Unreal, and every game engine.

MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer 3)

Compressed audio. Much smaller file size. Good for background music and longer audio. Supported by Unity and most web-based game engines. Godot prefers OGG over MP3.

OGG Vorbis

Open-source compressed format. Similar quality to MP3 but royalty-free (no patent issues). Preferred by Godot and many indie game engines. Great for background music and ambient loops.

Rule of thumb: Use WAV for short sound effects, OGG or MP3 for music and longer audio.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use these sounds in my game?

Yes — every resource on this page offers free audio for game projects. However, each site and each individual sound file may have a different license. Some require attribution (credit in your game), while CC0 sounds can be used with no credit. Always check the specific license before publishing.

What is the difference between CC0 and CC-BY?

CC0 (Public Domain) means you can use the audio for anything with no credit required. CC-BY (Attribution) means you can use it freely, but you must credit the creator — usually in your game's credits screen or a README file.

Can I use these in commercial (paid) games?

Most of these resources allow commercial use, but always verify the license. CC0, CC-BY, and most royalty-free licenses permit commercial use. CC-BY-NC (NonCommercial) does not. When in doubt, check the license on the specific file you downloaded.

What audio formats work in Unity?

Unity supports WAV, MP3, OGG, AIFF, XM, MOD, IT, and S3M. For sound effects, use WAV. For background music, use OGG or MP3.

What audio formats work in Godot?

Godot supports WAV for sound effects and OGG Vorbis for music. Import WAV files as AudioStreamSample and OGG files as AudioStreamOGGVorbis. Godot 4 also supports MP3.

What is royalty-free?

Royalty-free means you don't pay ongoing per-use fees after getting the audio. It does not necessarily mean "free of charge" — some royalty-free audio costs money upfront. All the resources on this page are both royalty-free and free of charge.

How do I add sound effects to my Unity game?

Drag your audio file into the Assets folder. Add an AudioSource component to a GameObject. Assign the audio clip. Use audioSource.Play() in your C# script to trigger the sound. For background music, check "Loop" on the AudioSource.

Can I edit or modify free sounds?

With CC0 and CC-BY licenses, yes — you can edit, remix, and modify the audio however you want. CC-BY-ND (NoDerivatives) does not allow modifications. Use Audacity (free) to trim, combine, and add effects to your audio files.