How to find sound design work for indie games
If you make sound effects, Foley, UI sounds or ambience for games, indie work gets posted on IndieGuild, r/gameDevClassifieds for paid gigs, r/INAT for rev share and hobby teams, the Audio category on Work With Indies, Hitmarker's game audio jobs, itch.io game jams, and freelance marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr. Sound design often hides inside posts that say "audio" or "composer and SFX", so a big part of finding it is knowing where to look and what to search for.
I founded IndieGuild, so keep that in mind when I talk about it. I've tried to be fair to everyone here, because each of these is the right pick for somebody.
- Want paid gigs? Watch the paid posts on r/gameDevClassifieds and the Audio category on Work With Indies.
- Aiming for a studio job or internship? Hitmarker's game audio section lists studio roles, internships included.
- Need credits? Join itch.io jams and answer Audio Needed posts on r/INAT.
- Show sound against picture. A gameplay video where you made all the sound beats a folder of WAV files.
- Learn FMOD or Wwise. Getting sounds working in the game is what moves you from one-off SFX to bigger projects.
- Let devs come to you. Make a free IndieGuild profile with your sounds on the page, and roles that fit you land in your inbox.
| Where | Better pick when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| IndieGuild | You want indie devs to hear your sounds right on your profile, and sound roles that fit you sent to your inbox, for free. | It's new, so there are fewer roles than on the big boards. |
| r/gameDevClassifieds | You want paid gigs and a free place for your own [FOR HIRE] post under the Sound Design flair. | Lots of people posting [FOR HIRE], and you need to watch for scams. |
| r/INAT | You'll do rev share or hobby work for credits, and want to answer Audio Needed posts. | Lots of projects there never finish. |
| Work With Indies | You want a contract or staff audio role at an indie studio. | The Audio category is small, so check back every week. |
| Hitmarker | You're aiming for studio audio jobs, including technical sound design roles and internships. | It leans toward bigger studios, and some listings are audio hardware or programming jobs. |
| itch.io jams | You need finished games with your sounds in them, fast. | Jam teams are short-term and usually unpaid. |
| Upwork | You want the platform to handle contracts and payment. | A service fee on your earnings, and plenty of "game audio" posts that are only loosely about games. |
| Fiverr | You want to sell fixed-price SFX packages to devs who browse its Video games sound design category. | Fees, and a lot of competition on price. |
Where sound design gigs actually get posted
Sound design rarely gets a big board of its own, so here's how to dig it out of each place.
IndieGuild
This one's mine. You make a free profile where devs can play your sounds right on the page, with your rates up front. Devs browse creators by craft and genre on Discover, or use Find my match. Every role on the Job board says Paid, Rev share, Paid or rev share, Hobby or Not sure yet, and it can show a budget. When a dev posts a sound role that fits you, it lands in your inbox. It's free, I don't take a cut, there are no ads, and nobody can pay to be seen first.
r/gameDevClassifieds and r/INAT
r/gameDevClassifieds is for paid work, and posts are flaired by role. Sound designers can post under the FOR HIRE - Sound Design flair, but a lot of composer and sound designer combos use the Musician flair, and paid posts that need several people go under PAID - Multiple Roles. So don't just filter by flair. Search titles for "sound", "SFX" and "audio" too.
r/INAT (I Need A Team) is where rev share and hobby teams form. Teams that need sound post under Audio Needed, and you can post your own under Audio Offer. Titles usually say [RevShare] or [Hobby] up front. Pick teams that already have something playable. Read both subs' rules before you post, because they remove posts that break them.
Work With Indies
Work With Indies is a job board just for indie games, and its Audio category mixes sound design, music and voice roles. When I checked, it had a technical sound designer role for a Unity game and a sound effects creator role. It's a small category, so treat it as a weekly check, not a daily one.
Hitmarker
Hitmarker is a job board for games, esports and media, with its own game audio section. It leans toward bigger studios. When I checked, it had audio design and sound design internships at studios like Insomniac Games and Electronic Arts, plus technical sound designer roles. Some listings are audio hardware or audio engine programming jobs, so read the title closely. If studio work is your goal, it's a good way to see what those roles ask for.
Upwork and Fiverr
On Upwork you answer client posts. Its game audio jobs page pulls together posts that mention game audio, though some are only loosely about games. On Fiverr you sell fixed-price packages, and devs browse its Video games sound design category. Both handle payment, and both take a share. Upwork says its freelancer service fee ranges from 0% to 15% per contract, and Fiverr says freelancers receive 80% of the client's cleared payment. Build that into your price.
Jams, Bluesky and X
Most itch.io jams have a community tab where teams post the roles they're missing, sound included. On IndieGuild, tap "I'm in" on a jam with Jam Crew so teams can find you. On Bluesky and X, search "need sound effects", "looking for a sound designer" or "SFX for my game" and sort by latest.
One more spot: posts asking for a "composer and sound designer". If you also write music, great. If you don't, say so in one line and offer the sound side. Some devs are happy to split it between two people.
Make a reel that sounds like a game
Devs hiring sound want to hear it against picture. A folder of WAV files is hard to judge. A video is easy. Here's what I'd put in yours:
- A gameplay redesign. Take a short gameplay clip, strip out the audio, and redo every sound yourself. Put it first.
- A UI set. Clicks, confirms, cancels, a purchase and a notification that all feel like they belong to one game.
- Footsteps with variations. A few surfaces, several takes each, so nothing sounds repeated after the tenth step.
- Impacts and abilities. A hit, a block and a spell or weapon with a wind-up and a tail.
- An ambience loop that runs without a seam.
- A creature or a machine if you can. It shows you can design a sound, not just pick one.
- Proof you can implement. A short screen capture of an FMOD or Wwise session, or an engine scene where the sounds react to what's happening.
Look at the format G.A.N.G. uses for its Demo Derby, where a panel of game audio experts gives feedback on demos: the sound design derby asks for a video of up to one minute where you did all the sound design. That's a great shape for the top of your reel too.
Two honesty notes: use footage you're allowed to use, and label a redesign as a redesign so nobody thinks you worked on that game. And be ready to say which sounds you recorded yourself and which come from licensed sound libraries, because devs ask. My guide for devs hiring a sound designer tells them to.
On IndieGuild, your sounds play right on your profile, and devs can hear them over their own gameplay clip in the Gameplay studio. That's about as close to a real audition as it gets before anyone pays you.
Learn implementation, because that's how you move up
On small indie jobs, you usually hand over files and the dev drops them in. On bigger ones, devs want someone who can get the sounds working: random pitch and variations so footsteps don't repeat, layers that react to the game, and a mix that holds up. That's middleware like FMOD and Wwise, or your engine's own audio tools. Studios even hire for it as its own job, often called technical sound designer.
- FMOD. The FMOD Skill Tree is FMOD's learning site, with free courses, hands-on tutorials and sample games.
- Wwise. Audiokinetic's Wwise-101 has 20 lessons and quizzes online. If you want the certification, you buy the exam.
- Your engine. Unity, Unreal and Godot all have their own audio tools. Knowing the one a dev uses is a quick way to stand out on a small project.
On small gigs, offer it plainly: "I'll deliver named files, and I can set them up in your engine or in FMOD if you want." It makes you easy to say yes to.
Climbing from jam sounds to studio work
The usual path goes jams, then small paid indie gigs, then bigger indie games where you handle implementation, then studio roles. Every finished game moves you up a step. A few things that help along the way:
- Pick jams with games you'd want on your reel. A finished jam game with great sound is a credit and a reel clip at once.
- Scope your first paid gigs with a sound list. A UI set or a full sound pass on a small game is a great first job, as long as everyone agrees on the list.
- Get feedback in public. r/GameAudio is a community of game audio folks where people talk about freelancing, implementation and reels. G.A.N.G.'s Demo Derby runs at events like GameSoundCon.
- Pitch games you love. If a demo you like still sounds unfinished, a short redesign of its trailer, sent kindly, says more than any message. My guide to pitching a game dev has a first message you can adapt.
- Know your rates before someone asks. Sound effects are usually priced per sound, per hour or day, or per project. Here's how game sound is usually priced, with sourced numbers.
Red flags
- A big free "test". A small paid test is normal. A free test that's half the sound list is the job.
- No sound list and no budget. That's how "a few more sounds" turns into months.
- Nobody owns implementation. Ask who's putting the sounds in the game before you quote.
- Fuzzy rights. License or buyout, use in trailers and sequels, and library sounds all belong in writing.
- Paying to apply. Nobody should ask you for money to get a gig.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find sound design work for indie games?
The main places are IndieGuild, r/gameDevClassifieds for paid gigs, r/INAT for rev share and hobby teams, the Audio category on Work With Indies, Hitmarker's game audio jobs for studio roles, itch.io game jams, and Upwork and Fiverr for freelance work. Posts that ask for a composer and sound designer are worth answering too.
How do I get sound design work with no experience?
Redo all the sound on a short gameplay clip to start your reel, then join a few itch.io game jams so you have finished games with your sounds in them. Make a free profile on IndieGuild with your sounds on the page, and answer Audio Needed posts on r/INAT or small paid posts on r/gameDevClassifieds to build credits.
What should a game sound design reel include?
A short gameplay video where you made all the sound, plus a few sets: UI sounds that feel like one game, footsteps with variations, impacts and abilities, an ambience loop, and a creature if you can. A quick screen capture of your FMOD, Wwise or engine setup helps for bigger jobs.
Do I need to know FMOD or Wwise to get sound design work?
Not for most small indie jobs, where you deliver files and the dev drops them in. For bigger projects and studio roles it matters a lot, because getting sounds working in the game is part of the job. FMOD's Skill Tree has free courses, and Audiokinetic has its Wwise-101 lessons online.
Do I need to make music too to get game audio work?
No. Some indie posts ask for one person who does both, but plenty of devs want a sound designer on their own. If you only do sound, say so clearly in your profile and post titles, and when a post asks for music and sound, offer the sound side or team up with a composer.
Is IndieGuild free for sound designers?
Yes. Making a profile is free, and I don't take a cut of your gigs. You and the dev agree on pay and rights directly.
Let devs find you
Make a free profile with your sounds on the page, your rates up front, and tags like "Rev share OK" or "Hobby projects OK" if you're open to them. When a dev posts a sound role that fits you, it lands in your inbox. It's free, and I don't take a cut of your gigs.
Make my profileMore guides
- How to find work as an indie game developer
- How to find game music work as a small composer
- How to find voice acting work for indie games
- How game music, sound and voice acting is priced
- How to pitch a game dev (for creators)
- How to find a sound designer for your indie game