Game Music & Soundtracks
KHInsider, VGMdb, OverClocked Remix, Bandcamp game OSTs, Spotify VGM playlists.
Where to find, buy, and explore video game music. For the developer side (composing FOR a game) see Game audio middleware and SFX & music generators. For the streaming-on-Twitch licensing question (different problem) see Streaming Music Licensing.
The 2024–26 reality: most major game OSTs are now legitimately on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Bandcamp. The legal gap mostly applies to obscure / older / Japan-exclusive titles. KHInsider remains the largest community archive but its legal status depends on the publisher — be aware.
Legitimate / paid (the recommended path)
- ★ Bandcamp — paid; the indie-game-OST haven. Disasterpeace, Lena Raine, Toby Fox, C418, Lifeformed, Toby Fox, Anamanaguchi, Christopher Larkin, Ben Prunty all sell OSTs here. Direct artist support, lossless FLAC, no DRM. The default for indie OSTs.
- Steam-bundled OSTs — paid; many Steam games sell their OST as DLC. Often FLAC.
- Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Tidal — paid; major-label OSTs (Halo, Final Fantasy, Pokémon, Persona) are increasingly on streaming services post-2020.
- iTunes Store / Amazon Music — paid; per-track / per-album.
- Materia Collective — paid; arranges and publishes orchestral and chiptune game music albums.
- Square Enix / Konami / Sega digital stores — paid; first-party OST sales for Japanese publishers.
- Sumthing Else Music Works — paid; major-AAA-label OST publisher.
Free / community (legal grey — read carefully)
- KHInsider — free downloads; community-uploaded OSTs spanning hundreds of games. Honest flag: legality varies per publisher; mostly tolerated, occasionally DMCA'd. Treat as a discovery tool and buy the OST if you can find it.
- VGMdb — free; database / wiki / discography reference. Not downloads — metadata. Indispensable for tracking arrangements / re-releases.
- Zophar's Domain — free; the long-running NES / SNES / etc. chiptune archive in original chip formats (NSF, SPC, GBS, GSF). Plays in Foobar2000 + plugins or VLC + libgme.
- The Internet Archive's game music collections — free; some legal, many tolerated. See Game preservation.
- Joshw / vgm.hcs64.com — niche communities for VGM file formats.
Community arrangements / remixes
- ★ OverClocked Remix (OCRemix) — free; community arrangements of game music. 25+ years of curated remixes; CC-licensed where possible. Albums (Final Fantasy, Sonic, Mega Man) are released as full free downloads.
- Materia Collective — see above; pays arrangers, sells the result.
- GameChops — paid + free; Lo-fi / chillhop game-music label.
- YouTube — free; full OST uploads of varying legality; Pokémon / Persona / Final Fantasy mixes for studying / sleeping.
Specialty formats / players
- Foobar2000 + foo_input_vgmstream / foo_gep — free Win; plays game-native music formats (PSF, SPC, NSF, etc.).
- Audacious + libgme + libvgmstream — free Linux/Mac; same.
- VLC — free; with the right plugins handles many VGM formats.
- vgmstream — free OSS; library decoding hundreds of game music container formats.
Tools for ripping music from games you own (legality flagged)
- VGMToolbox — free OSS; rips streaming game music (BRSTM, BFSTM, etc.).
- GoldWave / Audacity — free / free OSS; record loopback.
- Honest flag: ripping music for personal listening from a game you own is legally tolerated in many jurisdictions but redistributing is not. Don't reupload.
Pick this if…
- Buying indie-game OSTs: Bandcamp.
- Spotify-shape listening for AAA OSTs: Spotify / Apple Music.
- Discovery / "what's the name of this song": VGMdb.
- Free remixes: OverClocked Remix.
- Authentic chip music: Zophar's Domain + Foobar2000 with VGM plugins.
- You want to legally support the artist: Bandcamp first, then Steam OST DLC.