Best Royalty Free Sound Effects for Gamers - Bring Your Game Live Streaming to the Next Level
Jourdan Aldredge
May 16, 2024
Over the past few years, the gaming industry—specifically the game streaming industry—has moved from an online niche into the realm of mainstream entertainment.
According to estimations, the game's live-streaming market is projected to reach revenue of $13.65 billion in 2024, and it’s safe to assume that they’ll continue to rise year after year for the foreseeable future.
So, suppose you’re a young and hungry content creator of any type. In that case, whether you’re just considering game live streaming or you’re dead set on making your mark in the industry, we’d like to present to you why you not only could benefit from adding royalty free sound effects to your gaming videos and streams, but you actually need these assets to stand out.
10 top royalty free sound effects for gamers
Now, before we dive into all of the tips and tricks for using sound effects in your gaming streams and videos—as well as exploring what the term “royalty free” means and why you should be using this type of audio—let’s first give you what you came here for originally.
That is by providing you with some of the best royalty free sound effects for gamers and your various gaming live streams and content needs. These sound effects are hand-picked from our huge collection of sound effects and can be just the trick to give your streams and content that extra level of quality.
(Also, we should quickly mention that these are just our top ten royalty free sound effects for gamers. If you’d like to check out more royalty free sound effects, try our full library here at Soundstripe.)
Description: Arcade game-level music.
Description: Typical rise and fall sound of an old hit-and-run game. Short and damped.
Description: 8-bit chiptune jump sound recorded from a handheld game console.
Description: Heavily distorted bass/kick impact with long decay.
Description: Arcade playing sound design.
Description: Melodic and suspenseful sequence with whoosh.
Description: Arcade scoring sound effects.
Description: Electrified lightning-like sound. Metallic clang, pulsation, and distorted, robotic sound.
Description: Low, slightly distorted soft whoosh, ambient drone, long, low, soft power down whoosh.
Description: Arcade explosion sound effect.
As mentioned above, these are just some of our top selections that we think you should use in your gaming videos and streams.
However, we do recognize that you’ll probably want to peruse more than just ten SFX options, so if you’d like to check out the several thousand more that we have to offer, visit our sound effects library—or scroll along as we get to some of our best curated sound effects playlists below.
How do gamers use sound effects?
For most content creators crafting videos for social video platforms like YouTube, music and sound effects work in a pretty straightforward and standard method. Creators come up with an idea, shoot the footage, and then edit the video together, adding music and sound effects.
However, while there are plenty of examples of gaming content creators creating content in this style for platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc.… there’s also a lot to be said about the live-streaming industry, which Twitch mostly occupies.
We’ve covered how you can use copyright-free music on Twitch in the past, and sound effects work pretty much the same way.
As mentioned above, Twitch is a different beast, unlike YouTube and other social video and media apps. There’s a lot to go over and explore if you’re just starting with Twitch and trying to learn its various functions and features.
For sound effects, you can either pre-load different SFX into audio tracks that you can play in the background to help create a more immersive experience for your streams (like high-energy soundtracking) or cue up SFX to play as needed throughout your video using a soundboard, which you can read more about here.
We also have a Soundstripe extension for Twitch streamers, making it easier to use royalty free music and sound effects in your streams. You can read more about it here or check out other helpful extensions we recommend.
Why royalty free sound effects?
In this article, we've delved into the concept of "royalty free," so let's now take a moment to explore its meaning for gaming content creators. While you might already be familiar with copyrights, it's important to understand that all music and sound effects inherently carry copyrights.
These copyrights belong to the composers and the artists who created or recorded these audio elements. Consequently, using such tracks and sound effects without proper permission is unethical and illegal. Utilizing unlicensed songs like those by Taylor Swift in your videos or streams can lead to legal repercussions.
To access music and sound effects for your videos and streams legally, easily, and affordably, consider using royalty free music licensing platforms like Soundstripe. With options for single-song or sound effect purchases and subscription plans that unlock thousands of audio assets, Soundstripe provides a convenient solution for sourcing audio content for your videos and streams across various platforms and channels.
For further insight into royalty free music and sound effects, here’s a great primer on what royalty free music is (and is not).
Our top sound effects playlists for Gamers
To help you add royalty-free sound effects for gaming streams and videos, we’ve also selected some playlists with plenty of great SFX for your videos. Check them out below.
Description: Video game SFX ranging from the arcade era to current generation platforms.
Description: Cinematic sound effects, pre-arranged into powerful sequences that you can cut your footage to
Description: Electrical hums, buzzes, and sparks signal a device's turning on.
Description: Background elements of urban and rural life to bring life to a scene.
Description: Digital alerts and pings that would make R2 beep with joy.
Description: Sci-fi sound elements such as lasers and mechanical inventions. Warp speed!
Description: Lights, Camera, Action! SFX is tailored to Hollywood-style films, TV, and trailers.
If you’d like to dive and explore even more options, we have some additional royalty free sound effect playlists that would also be great for your gaming streams or other needs.
Tips for using royalty free sound effects in Your Gaming Videos
At the end of the day, though, it will be up to you to find the best ways to use royalty free music and sound effects in your gaming videos and Twitch streams. As we stated at the start, Twitch is way different from most social media platforms, so if you aren’t creating gaming videos for YouTube or other video-sharing apps, you’ll have to get creative to utilize better resources and how to stand out.
That being said, with the Soundstripe Twitch extension and these curated royalty free sound effect selections and playlists, you’ll be well on your way to leveling up your gaming videos and Twitch streams to better engage with your audience and build a successful following and channel.