Free Sampler
33 soundsA cross-section of twelve packs, as a direct ZIP from this page.
Download the ZIP
also on itch.io and Payhip
Free game sound effects — 571 sounds, no attribution required
69 separate downloads, royalty-free for commercial and personal work. These are the shipped files at the shipped levels, taken out of the paid packs rather than made separately, so the standard can be judged before anything is bought.
Download the 33-sound sampler — 11.0 MB ZIP
Direct from this page. No account, no email address, no checkout. To hear when new packs are released, take the same sampler from the Payhip store instead: it asks for an email address and nothing else.
- 571 sounds across 69 downloads
- WAV, 44.1 kHz, 16-bit stereo
- Levelled to −1.5 dBTP
- Commercial use, no credit line
Every free download
The sampler is a cross-section of the whole catalogue. The 68 mini-packs below are themed, and each one is a slice of the paid pack it is named after.
Free UI Sounds
8 soundsA mechanical tap, slider and scroll ticks, typing, a shutter.
Free Horror Sounds
8 soundsA music box winding down, floorboards, chains, a knife scrape.
Free Sci-Fi Sounds
8 soundsHologram, interface ticks, servos, data transfer, thrusters.
Free Nature Sounds
8 soundsPond frogs, crows, bees, a snapping branch, cave drips, gulls.
Download free on itch.io
from Open Air - Nature & Ambience SFX Pack
Free Weapon Sounds
8 soundsA pistol shot, sword drawn and sheathed, ricochet, shotgun pump.
Download free on itch.io
from Steel & Powder - Weapon SFX Pack
Free Halloween Monster Sounds
6 soundsGhost wail, bone rattle, vampire hiss, bat swarm, demon laugh.
Download free on itch.io
from Classic Monsters - Halloween SFX Pack
Free Kitchen Sounds
6 soundsChopping, pan sizzle, rolling boil, kettle whistle, plates.
Download free on itch.io
from Service & Sizzle - Kitchen & Cooking SFX Pack
Free Typewriter and Office Sounds
6 soundsTypewriter keys and carriage return, paper, rubber stamp.
Download free on itch.io
from Deadline - Typewriter & Office SFX Pack
Free Radio Static Sounds
6 soundsStatic bursts, a slow tuning sweep, squelch and morse.
Download free on itch.io
from Dead Air - Radio Static & Signal SFX Pack
Free Casual Mobile Sounds
8 soundsA soft splat, cartoon jump, whooshes, wheel ticks, timers.
Download free on itch.io
from Bright & Bouncy - Casual Mobile SFX Pack
Free Pirate Sounds
8 soundsTankard clink, drunken laugh, coins on wood, chest lock, cutlass.
Free Fantasy RPG Sounds
10 soundsA slice across the RPG library: camp ambience, axe hit, magic, loot.
Free Platformer Sounds
8 soundsA jump, wall slide, ledge grab, moving and crumbling platforms.
Free Roguelike Sounds
8 soundsA boss entrance and the status set: burn, poison, freeze, stun, curse.
Free Survival and Crafting Sounds
8 soundsA wolf howl, a tree falling, a tool breaking, failed builds and crafts.
Free Idle and Clicker Sounds
8 soundsCritical and rapid clicks, progress fill, menus, a denied purchase.
Free Christmas and Winter Sounds
8 soundsSleigh bells, hand bell, wrapping paper, ribbon, bauble.
Free Human Vocalisation Sounds
8 soundsA crowd cheer, a cough, a gulp, a bite, a short laugh, a sigh, a snore, a whistle.
Free Fishing Sounds
8 soundsReel drag, a bobber plop, a creaking boat, rowing, a gull, a tackle box, a line snapping.
Free Puzzle and Match Sounds
8 soundsA bomb blast, piece rotate and reject, a denied move, shuffle, undo, an urgent timer.
Free Racing and Driving Sounds
8 soundsA heavy collision, an engine stall, handbrake, gravel and wet-road loops, wrong way.
Free Stealth and Espionage Sounds
8 soundsAn alarm siren, camera servo, cloth movement, a vent crawl, a lockpick breaking.
Free Tower Defense Sounds
8 soundsA boss warning, denied placement, not enough gold, a life lost, defeat, poison tick.
Free Visual Novel Sounds
8 soundsA CG unlock, a blush sparkle, dread, a ticking room, rain on a window, a page turn.
Free Educational and Kids Sounds
8 soundsKids cheering, balloon and bubble pops, a card flip, a page turn, a counting tick.
Free Management and Tycoon Sounds
8 soundsA bankruptcy alert, invalid placement, insufficient funds, storage full, demolish.
Free Rhythm and Music Game Sounds
8 soundsA rank stamp, metronome tick and accent, a count-in, a note slide, a song fail.
Free Cozy Farm Sounds
8 soundsA rooster, a startled chicken, a goat, a duck splash, weeding, a tool breaking, a gate.
Download free on itch.io
from Cozy Farm & Life Sim SFX Library
Free Cozy UI Sounds
8 soundsA plucky click, a hover tick, a slider tick, a tooltip, a gentle deny, an invalid-input buzz, a cooldown, a combo break.
Free Gun Sounds
8 soundsOne assault rifle shot, a dry fire, a magazine seated, a casing on concrete, a concrete impact, a ricochet, a jam, a low-ammo click.
Download free on itch.io
from Guns & Modern Combat SFX Library
Free Sci-Fi Weapon Sounds
8 soundsA blaster rifle shot, a dry fire, a power cell seated, a hull impact, a ricochet, a drone shot, a weapon jam and a low-power warning.
Download free on itch.io
from Sci-Fi Weapons and Combat SFX Library
Free Vehicle Sounds
8 soundsAn ignition key turn, a car door closing, a tire screech, two horns, an old engine failing to start, a quick rev, a garage door and a gas station bed.
Free Retro 8-Bit Sounds
8 soundsA chiptune jump, a coin, a laser shot, a small explosion, a menu select, a hurt cue, a game over and an enemy death.
Download free on itch.io
from Retro and 8-Bit Arcade SFX Library
Free Space Opera Sounds
8 soundsA starfighter flyby, a passing laser bolt, a sad robot, a robot head servo, a sliding door, a keycard chime, a power coupling spark and an alien bird call.
Free Retro FPS Sounds
8 soundsA chunky pistol shot, a dry trigger click, a bullet hitting stone, an armor shard pickup, a locked-door buzz, a soldier's pain grunt, a metal footstep and a menu move.
Free Punch Sounds
8 soundsA jab, a punch whoosh, an arm block, a slap, a cloth swish, a missed swing, a body falling on concrete and a light arcade hit.
Free Insect Sounds
8 soundsA giant spider chitter, an ant's pain chirp, a wasp swatted, a bug squish, a chitin crack, a moth flutter, wings folding and a bug spray hiss.
Free Magic Spell Sounds
8 soundsA fireball cast, a frost damage tick, crackling sparks, a mud splash, an air burst, a cleanse, a spell fizzle and a cooldown-ready chime.
Download free on itch.io
from Elemental Magic Spells SFX Library
Free Card Game Sounds
8 soundsA card draw, a card flip, a deck tapped square, a hover tick, an invalid card drop, a not-enough-mana buzz, a turn timer tick and a menu click.
Download free on itch.io
from Card Game and Deckbuilder SFX Library
Free Character Grunt Sounds
8 soundsA light attack grunt and a light pain grunt for a man and a woman, a jump effort for each, a surprised gasp and a cough.
Download free on itch.io
from Character Grunts and Vocal Efforts SFX Library
Free Analog Horror Sounds
8 soundsA TV static burst, a VCR stopping, a video glitch, a signal ping, a sharp inhale, a heartbeat, a light switch and an answering machine beep.
Download free on itch.io
from Analog Horror and VHS SFX Library
Free Hacker Terminal Sounds
8 soundsA keyboard typing burst, a single keypress, a cursor beep, an access denied buzz, a network ping, an error pop, a digital glitch and a relay click.
Download free on itch.io
from Hacker and Terminal Interface SFX Library
Free Fishing and Boat Sounds
8 soundsA fish leaping and splashing back, a sidearm cast, a reel ratchet, an ice auger biting into the ice, ducks taking off, a failed-catch sound, a tackle tray opening and a mooring rope pulled tight.
Download free on itch.io
from Fishing and Water Sim SFX Library
Free Underwater Sounds
8 soundsA sonar ping, a regulator breath out, a fin kick, a bubble burst, a dolphin's clicks, a hull creak, an underwater rock impact and a dive computer beep.
Download free on itch.io
from Underwater and Deep Sea SFX Library
Free Weather and Nature Sounds
8 soundsA distant thunder rumble, a wind gust, a raindrop drip, an ice crack, an ember pop, a stone splash, a wave on pebbles and an owl hoot.
Free Monster and Creature Sounds
8 soundsAn orc attack roar, a goblin cackle, a ghoul pain cry, a dire wolf howl, a slime bursting, a mutant alert, a wraith moan and a tiny critter chirp.
Download free on itch.io
from Monster and Creature Vocals SFX Library
Free Medieval Weapon Sounds
8 soundsA sword striking armour, an axe biting wood, a dagger drawn, an arrow flyby, an arrow hitting stone, a crossbow crank, a shield breaking and a chainmail shuffle.
Download free on itch.io
from Medieval Weapons and Archery SFX Library
Free 80s Kids Adventure Sounds
8 soundsA bike bell, a kickstand, a walkie-talkie static burst, a flashlight click, a treehouse trapdoor slam, a screen door, an owl hoot and a secret compartment popping open.
Free Lost Temple Sounds
8 soundsA whip crack, a rope snapping, a dart hitting wood, a small rock slide, a hidden latch, a dropped torch, a bat screech and a journal flip.
Download free on itch.io
from Lost Temple Adventure SFX Library
Free Zombie Sounds
8 soundsA low zombie groan, a snarl, an attack lunge, a claw swipe, a short death, a fall, an infected cough and a bone crack.
Download free on itch.io
from Zombies and Infected SFX Library
Free 80s Retro Tech Sounds
8 soundsA cassette insert, a walkman click, an arcade coin, a CRT power-on, a payphone coin drop, a rotary dial, a typewriter key and a synth power-up.
Download free on itch.io
from 80s Retro Tech and Synth SFX Library
Free 90s Retro Tech Sounds
8 soundsA dial-up modem dialing, a mail chime, a CD-ROM drive, a floppy disk insert, a desktop startup chime, a gamepad click, a virtual pet chime and a camcorder beep.
Free Christmas Sounds
8 soundsA doorbell chime, a church bell toll, a gift box open, a candle blow-out, a fireplace log pop, a snow footstep, a champagne cork and a toast clink.
Download free on itch.io
from Christmas and Holiday SFX Library
Free Space and Sci-Fi Sounds
8 soundsAn airlock cycling open, a docking clamp, a cryo pod powering up, two computer alerts, a comms dropout, a hull groan and a ship power-up.
Free Footstep Sounds
8 soundsA grass step, a gravel run step, a snow landing, a wood scuff, a metal skid stop, a water crouch step, a mud jump-off, concrete stairs.
Free Ambience Loops
8 soundsEight ten-second seamless loops: a forest day, steady rain, a city night, an office, a server room, a space station corridor, a dark basement, a menu bed.
Free Shooter Voice Lines
8 soundsReloading, contact left, copy that and cover me from the two squad voices, grenade and enemy down over the radio, and the announcer's round one and victory.
Download free on itch.io
from Shooter Callouts and Announcer Voice Pack
Free RPG NPC Bark Lines
8 soundsA merchant's welcome and farewell, a guard's challenge and battle alert, and an innkeeper's welcome, farewell and one tavern rumor.
Free Fantasy UI Sounds
8 soundsA parchment unrolling, a menu hover tick, an invalid-choice rattle, a ring equipped, a coin spill, a failed spell, a compass turning and a raven taking off.
Download free on itch.io
from Fantasy and Medieval UI SFX Library
Free Dialogue Blip Sounds
8 soundsOne wordless blip each from a tiny sprite, a knight, a pocket robot and a slime, a surprised squeak, a pen scratch, a next-arrow cue and an 8-bit square-wave blip.
Download free on itch.io
from Dialogue Blips and Character Babble SFX Library
Free Gore Sounds
8 soundsA heavy blade stab, a blood drip, a joint pop, a body falling on gravel, a body hitting a crate, a bloody cloth wrung out, a creature shell cracking and a finishing crush.
Download free on itch.io
from Gore and Body Impact SFX Library
Free Fantasy Combat Voices
8 soundsA barbarian's clan cry, a knight ordering the line to hold, an orc taunt, a ranger hit in the arm, a mage calling the storm, a knight's sword effort, an orc's last words and a ranger's victory line.
Download free on itch.io
from Fantasy Combat Voices - Barbarian, Knight, Orc, Ranger and Mage
Free Explosion Sounds
8 soundsA desert blast, a mine popping, a blast heard through a wall, a bottle breaking, a branch cracking, a dented metal drum, a signal flare lighting and a remote detonator click.
Download free on itch.io
from Explosions and Destruction SFX Library
Free Retro Horror Sounds
8 soundsA heavy door slam, a typewriter carriage return, an inventory cursor tick, a wrong-answer buzzer, an empty gun click, a crow caw, footsteps on creaking stairs and rats scurrying.
Download free on itch.io
from Retro Survival Horror SFX Library
Free Sci-Fi HUD Sounds
8 soundsAn area scan pulse, a lost target lock, a proximity alert, a scroll tick, an invalid-input buzz, a screen glitch, a corrupted data burst and an enemy blip on radar.
Download free on itch.io
from Sci-Fi HUD and Interface SFX Library
Free Robot and Mech Sounds
8 soundsA heavy mech step on metal, a knee actuator clunk, a sensor mast rising, a spark from an exposed circuit, a sad robot tone, a cockpit toggle switch, a pneumatic rivet strike and a stalling servo.
Free Loot and Inventory Sounds
8 soundsA bouncy cartoon coin, a data shard pickup, an iron key, an inventory slot snap, a locked chest rattle, a not-enough-money alert, a failed craft and a cursed idol reveal.
Free Wilderness Survival Sounds
8 soundsOne axe chop on a tree, flint gathered by hand, a cave crystal chip, a structure creaking under load, a tool handle snapping, an empty-stomach growl, a purifying tablet fizz and a tent zipper.
Download free on itch.io
from Survival and Crafting SFX Library
How many free game sound effects are there, and what is the catch?
571 sounds across 69 separate free downloads: a 33-sound sampler you can take straight off this page without an account, and 68 themed mini-packs on itch.io. There is no catch and no watermark. They are the shipped files at the shipped levels, lifted out of the paid packs rather than made separately, so what you hear is the standard you would be buying. The mini-packs hold back the payoff sounds of each pack, which is the only difference between free and paid.
Can I use these free sound effects in a commercial game?
Yes. The licence is royalty-free for commercial and non-commercial work across unlimited projects, with no attribution required and no per-copy fee. You can ship them in a paid game, use them in client work, and commit them to a public repository as part of your project. The one restriction is that the audio files may not be resold or redistributed on their own as a sound library or pack.
Do I have to credit anyone?
No. Attribution is not required in any form. That is the practical difference between these and most free game audio: Creative Commons BY material on Freesound and OpenGameArt, and the free tier on Zapsplat, all make a credit line a licence condition rather than a courtesy.
What format are the files in?
Uncompressed WAV, 44.1 kHz, 16-bit stereo, levelled to -1.5 dBTP true peak. WAV rather than OGG or MP3 because Unity and Unreal re-encode audio at build time, so importing an already-compressed file compresses it twice and the artefacts are audible on short transient sounds like interface clicks.
How were these sounds made?
The source audio is generated with ElevenLabs Sound Effects under a paid commercial subscription, which is what passes commercial rights through to you. That is the starting point rather than the product: every candidate is screened by ear and by measurement, the ones that do not hold up are cut and regenerated, and the survivors are trimmed, faded at both ends, level-matched across the pack and set to -1.5 dBTP.
Where else can I get free game sound effects?
Kenney at kenney.nl releases game assets under CC0, so no credit is required there either. Sonniss publishes a large royalty-free bundle free each year around GDC. Freesound and OpenGameArt hold a great deal of usable material but the licence is set per file and is often Creative Commons BY, which means a credit line is required, so check each file rather than the site. Zapsplat is free with attribution unless you subscribe. Reading the licence per file is the part people skip and then have to undo later.
If the free packs are useful
Every mini-pack above is a slice of a paid pack, and the paid pack holds the sounds the free one leaves out. The full catalogue is on the packs page, with store links on the store pages, and the technical detail is in the guides.