Free game sound effects you can use in a commercial game
Short answer
Free is fine for a commercial game only if the licence allows commercial use: CC0 (public domain) needs nothing; CC-BY needs a credit line; anything marked NC (non-commercial) or "personal use" can't go in a game you sell. Keep the licence text and the source URL for every sound in a credits file.
- Before downloading, find the licence on the sound's page (not just the site's homepage).
- Save the licence and the URL in a credits.txt as you go.
- Avoid CC-BY-SA in assets you modify unless you are happy to share your changed sounds under the same licence.
| Licence | Sell a game with it? | Credit needed? |
|---|---|---|
| CC0 / public domain | Yes | No |
| CC-BY 4.0 | Yes | Yes, a credit line |
| CC-BY-NC | No | - |
| "Royalty-free" pack | Usually, read the pack's licence | Depends on the pack |
| "Free for personal use" | No | - |
Source: Creative Commons licence summaries, creativecommons.org/licenses
Good to know
Royalty-free means you don't pay per copy sold, not that the sound is free or unlimited; read what the licence forbids (reselling the sounds as a pack is almost always forbidden).
Blipwren SFX: Give your game its whole sound kit
from $6Blipwren is 120 original retro game sound effects for Godot, Unity and any engine, with a clear commercial licence. The free sampler is in the Roblox and game-dev starter kit.
Secure checkout · 14-day fix-or-refund if it doesn't work as described (terms)Questions
Can I use sounds from YouTube videos?
No, unless the creator gives you a licence; being publicly viewable doesn't make them free to use.
Do I need to credit CC0 sounds?
No, but crediting is still a nice habit.
Free: the Roblox Starter Kit
7 free Luau modules (damage, pets, shop formatting, admin audit log, tycoon guards and more) plus 3 free calculators, then 5 short emails with the scripting fixes we see go wrong most often.