A curated public catalog of free and commercially usable assets, libraries, and tools for game development and related interactive work.
This repository indexes and documents sources. It does not rehost third-party binary packs. Every entry points to the original publisher so licenses stay authoritative at the source.
- Website
- Browse the catalog
- Quick start
- How entries work
- Safe starting points
- Licenses & provenance
- Godot-oriented stack
- Scope
- Contributing
- Repository layout
- License
https://tmhsdigital.github.io/Free-Game-Dev-Assets/
The site is generated from catalog frontmatter on every push (GitHub Actions → Pages). Add or edit one file under catalog/<category>/<id>.md and the browse UI, filters, and counts update automatically.
Local preview:
node site/build.mjs
npx --yes serve site/dist| Category | Focus | Index |
|---|---|---|
| 3D | Models, scans, PBR textures & materials | catalog/3d/ |
| Environment | HDRI, terrain DEMs, geodata | catalog/environment/ |
| 2D | Sprites, UI/HUD, icons, palettes | catalog/2d/ |
| Characters | Generators & modular humanoids | catalog/characters/ |
| Audio | SFX, music, foley, impulse responses | catalog/audio/ |
| Animation | MoCap databases & character clips | catalog/animation/ |
| Shaders & VFX | Shaders, particle/FX resources | catalog/shaders-vfx/ |
| Fonts | OFL and commercial-ok typefaces | catalog/fonts/ |
| Tools | Editors, pipeline, TTS, Godot add-ons | catalog/tools/ |
Master index: catalog/README.md
- Use the website or open a category folder (or the master index).
- Prefer entries with
status: activeandcommercial: true. - Follow the source URL and re-check the live license before shipping.
- Keep attribution / notices files for anything that isn’t CC0.
If you’re prototyping under a tight deadline, start with the safe starting points.
Each source is one markdown file with YAML frontmatter plus short notes. Add new ones from catalog/TEMPLATE.md.
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
license |
Short license name as stated by the source (CC0, CC-BY-3.0, SIL OFL, custom, varies) |
commercial |
true / false / unknown |
attribution_required |
Whether credits are mandatory |
formats |
Common download / interchange formats |
verified |
Date of the last license spot-check (YYYY-MM-DD) |
status |
See legend below |
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
active |
License spot-checked; suitable to evaluate for production use |
needs-review |
Useful discovery — verify the live page before shipping |
deprecated |
Kept for history; prefer alternatives |
Aggregators (OpenGameArt, itch collections, Poly Pizza, font indexes) are usually license: varies. Treat each pack or file as its own review.
High-signal CC0 / clearly permissive sources that cover most early production needs:
| Need | Source | Entry |
|---|---|---|
| Modular low-poly 3D / UI | Kenney | catalog/3d/kenney.md |
| Rigged low-poly characters | Quaternius | catalog/3d/quaternius.md |
| Atlas-optimized kits | KayKit | catalog/3d/kaykit.md |
| Seamless PBR materials | ambientCG | catalog/3d/ambientcg.md |
| HDRIs / calibrated env | Poly Haven | catalog/environment/poly-haven.md |
| Extra PBR + SBSAR | TextureCan | catalog/3d/texturecan.md |
| UI icons (brand-free) | Lucide | catalog/2d/lucide-icons.md |
| Hand-drawn 2D vectors | Glitch archive | catalog/2d/glitch-archive.md |
| Input prompt icons | Xelu | catalog/2d/xelu-input-prompts.md |
| Pro SFX dumps | Sonniss #GameAudioGDC | catalog/audio/sonniss-gdc.md |
| Attribution music | Incompetech | catalog/audio/incompetech.md |
| Pixel / terminal font | Departure Mono | catalog/fonts/departure-mono.md |
| Localization fonts | Noto Sans | catalog/fonts/noto-sans.md |
Read docs/licenses.md, docs/provenance.md, docs/high-risk.md, docs/ai-assets.md, and docs/trust-score.md before mixing packs into a commercial build. Research drafts: docs/research-index.md (R01–R04). Short version:
- CC0 — safest default for closed-source games; attribution not required
- CC-BY — commercial OK; keep credits
- CC-BY-SA — commercial OK with caveats; prefer extractable asset bundles over encrypting SA files into the binary
- CC-*-ND — generally unusable in games (interactive sync/remix = derivative)
- SIL OFL — preferred for fonts embedded in games
- ODbL / OSM — game binary usually OK as a Produced Work; credit OSM; watch redistributed geodata
- Marketplace “free” (Unity / Fab / Unreal) — often commercial in-engine, no redistribution, sometimes engine-locked
- Trust the supplier — skip anonymous mega-dumps and known traps (MB-Lab, default Shadertoy, Maps scrapes)
Catalog metadata in this repo is CC0. Linked assets remain under their own licenses.
Research-backed shortlist for Godot 4 projects (Kenney industrial/tech kits, Sonniss/Freesound audio, Phantom Camera, Input Helper, Dialogic, GodotSteam, Mod Loader, etc.):
In scope
- Free asset libraries, packs, and aggregators with a clear free tier
- Tools useful for creating or processing game assets
- Sources usable in commercial games when terms allow
Out of scope
- Rehosting or mirroring third-party ZIP / model / audio dumps
- Paid-only marketplaces with no meaningful free content
- Guessing licenses — use
unknown/needs-reviewinstead
PRs welcome for new sources, license corrections, dead links, and clearer notes.
See CONTRIBUTING.md for the entry checklist and verification steps.
.
├── README.md ← you are here
├── CONTRIBUTING.md ← how to add / verify entries
├── LICENSE ← CC0 for catalog metadata & docs
├── docs/
│ ├── licenses.md / provenance.md / high-risk.md / ai-assets.md
│ ├── trust-score.md / research-index.md / godot-budget-stack.md
├── site/ ← GitHub Pages source (build scans catalog/)
│ ├── build.mjs / config.json / public/
└── catalog/
├── TEMPLATE.md
├── 3d/ environment/ 2d/ characters/
├── audio/ animation/ shaders-vfx/ fonts/ tools/
└── README.md
Catalog metadata and documentation in this repository are dedicated to the public domain under CC0 1.0.
Third-party assets linked from the catalog remain under their original licenses. Always verify terms on the source site before use.