Freesound
A large collaborative library of sound effects and recordings released under Creative Commons licences. Game developers use it for footsteps, impacts, ambience and UI sounds. Each sound carries its own licence (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-NC), so check it before using a sound in a commercial game.
Platform
Other
Music Technology Group, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
All
Free
What it is
Freesound is a collaborative database of audio clips, samples and recordings, run for over 20 years by the Music Technology Group at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. Anyone can upload and download sounds. You need a free account to download.
Licences: read this first
Each uploader picks one of three licences, as explained in Freesound's FAQ, and a few older sounds carry a retired fourth one:
- CC0: public domain. Use it for anything, no credit needed.
- CC BY (Attribution): use it for anything, including commercial games, but credit the author.
- CC BY-NC (Attribution NonCommercial): credit the author and do not use it commercially. That rules out paid games and, in most readings, games with ads or in-app purchases.
Filter your search by licence. Keep a credits file listing each sound, its author, link and licence. A single NonCommercial sound in a paid game is a licence breach.
Is it worth using?
Yes. It is one of the largest free sources of real recorded sounds: footsteps, doors, impacts, ambience, UI clicks and voices. Quality varies, so listen carefully and trim, normalise and layer sounds in a free editor such as Audacity.
How it fits the roadmap
Use it in the art and audio stage alongside a sound generator such as jsfxr for retro effects, and Kenney's CC0 audio packs for quick consistent sets.
Free vs paid
Free. Freesound accepts donations.
Common questions
Do I need to credit CC0 sounds? No, but recording them in your credits file is still good practice.
Can I edit sounds? Yes. Creative Commons licences here allow changes; the licence terms still apply to your edited version.
A simple workflow
- Search, then filter by licence (CC0 or CC BY for commercial games).
- Download a few candidates and listen in context, in the game, not just alone.
- Trim silence, normalise volume and export short effects as WAV and music or long ambience as OGG.
- Add each sound to your credits file straight away, with the author name and link, so you never have to search for them before release.
Ready to start?
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