Interactive games vs linear video
"Royalty-free for commercial use" on a music or SFX library usually means monetized YouTube, Twitch, and ads. It does not automatically mean a shipped game. Interactive sync and linear video sync are different licenses in this industry, and catalogs that collapse them will get someone a takedown.
Why the split exists
A linear video is one mix, one timeline, one public performance. The library can price that. A game is an interactive soundtrack: loops, layers, adaptive cues, player-triggered one-shots, potentially infinite duration, and a copy of the audio inside the distributed binary. Many stock contracts treat that as a separate product, or omit it so the default is "not granted."
ND (no derivatives) is the sharp version of the same idea. Playing a track under gameplay, ducking it, looping it, or layering it with SFX is commonly treated as a derivative. ND music is unsafe in games even when "commercial video" is allowed. See licenses.md.
Words that usually mean video, not games
On a terms page, these are video grants until you find a games sentence:
- YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, podcast, broadcast, advertising, film, "content creator"
- "monetized videos" / "royalty-free for commercial projects" with no mention of software
- Sync license, performance royalty, PRO (ASCAP/BMI) language aimed at linear cue sheets
Words that actually open games:
- games, apps, software, interactive, video game, in-product, compiled binary
- "ship inside your game" / "distribute to end users as part of your product"
Silence is not a yes. If games are not named, set commercial: unknown and needs-review, or mark commercial: false if the page is clearly creator-media only.
Redistribution vs shipping in a game
Most game-ok libraries still split two acts:
| Act | Typical answer |
|---|---|
| Compile the audio into your game and sell the game | Allowed, if games are in scope |
| Put the same files in an asset pack, template, game jam kit, or "royalty-free SFX folder" you resell | Forbidden |
| Ship a user-facing soundboard / sampler whose content is their library | Forbidden |
| Train a model on the library | Often forbidden; read the current clause |
"Free download" and "free tier" are access, not scope.
How to read a terms page for this question
- Search the page for
game,app,software,interactive. If none hit, you do not have a game grant. - Check whether the game grant is on the free tier or only on a paid/premium SKU.
- Check attribution: video credits (description box) are not the same as an in-game credits screen. Some sources require the credit in the game, not only on the store page.
- Check redistribution / "similar to a competitor's library."
- Ignore homepage marketing. The license URL wins.
Catalog entries where this distinction is load-bearing
catalog/audio/zapsplat.md— Basic tier names games, apps, and software, and requires credit. Premium drops attribution. Still a redistribution ban.catalog/audio/pixabay-audio.mdandcatalog/video/pixabay-videos.md: the full Content License (section 5 of the Terms, read 2026-09-23) never names games. What makes a game safe is its general grant plus its definition of Standalone: content combined with other media into "a 'new' creative work" is not standalone. Do not infer a game grant from "royalty-free" alone; this one rests on that definition.catalog/video/mixkit-stock-video.mdandcatalog/audio/mixkit-sfx.md: the clearest case in the catalog. Read on 2026-09-23, Envato's Sound Effects Free License lists "Video games" among its uses and its Stock Video Free License does not. Same publisher, same licence page, and only one of the two carries a games sentence.catalog/audio/incompetech.md— CC-BY-4.0 covers games if you credit; the paid "no attribution" SKU exists for ads and other credit-impossible formats, not because games are excluded.catalog/audio/soundimage.md— Custom grant; credit must appear in the game, not only on a store page.catalog/audio/freepd.md— Site went offline; do not substitute a video-library clone and keep the old commercial-ok flag.
Sonniss GDC dumps and Kenney audio are written as game libraries. Still read the pack page; do not assume every "free SFX" site on the same itch listing is in the same class.
Related: licenses.md, high-risk.md, provenance.md, fivem.md.