7 Best Websites to Download Free Game Assets and Sprites

Then we have just the perfect list of websites for you today, which house some of the most versatile and unique range of game images and models present on the internet. 

When one is planning to create their very own indie game, developing the game engine itself is not all that difficult. Especially when compared to choosing and picking the right sprites and stock images that can go incredibly well with the narrative and gameplay. 

And with so many game assets sites out there today, it can indeed be difficult to invest your time browsing through one and looking for particularly free and public domain images. 

Featured Image | Creature Quest by West Studio & Heather Poon

However, with our list today, we seek to solve this very problem that most beginner developers tend to face. 

So, here is our top 7 list of the best websites for free game assets and sprites.

Free Game Assets and Sprites Websites

League of Legends by Riot Games Worldbuilding Team

1. Itch.io

A lot of beginners and amateur game developers today, have made the digital marketplace Itch.io their number-one go-to because of the variety and versatility of game sprites and assets that the site provides.

However, most of their more premium content is not free to download, but the ones that are free are incredibly amazing, to begin with, and are capable of serving multiple purposes.

Just make sure that when you’re browsing through their content, you filter the results based on what you need and what comes with and without a license. 

Each of the game assets and sprites present on the website comes in different resolutions ranging from 8-bit to 16-bit, each with a different appearance and texture.

There are 3D-rendered models as well which you can opt into if you’re looking to design a much more complex game.

One amazing thing about Itch.io is the Itch community. They have a lot of members who are small-time indie game designers and have created a lot of games that are up for download on the website itself.

Some of the games you need to pay for, while the others are absolutely free. You can install and play these games and get an idea about all the amazing things that you will be able to do with the game assets present on the website.

This website is just perfect for beginner game designers and artists who are looking for some simple yet effective game sprites to work with.

2. OpenGameArt

Now, OpenGameArt is by far the largest game asset website today. It caters to the needs of both amateur and professional game designers alike and comes with a range of assets that will help you to design anything you want from scratch

The best part about this website is that it was made solely for Creative Commons art, which means that every single sprite and game asset on it is free to use and download.

In terms of licensing, most of the assets fall under the public domain; hence, you will be able to use them for a lot of commercial purposes as well without having to worry about credit. 

Their game asset range consists of 2D along with a lot of 3D art. There are also smaller asset categories that have items like sound FX and background music, which can help you to add the final touches to your game design.

There is one aspect of this website, which professionals absolutely love, and that is the concept art panel. There is this specific place in the website, which allows any artist to post their own concept art for free and is open to the wider public to view, share, and provide feedback.

However, the website design and the filter bar are not that easy to use and take a rather long time to get the hang of. But once you do start getting used to it, you will definitely find their library to be absolutely amazing.

3. GameDev Market

The GameDev market is much like Itch.Io when it comes to its library and supports a mixture of free as well as premium game assets. 

They also have a panel where artists are allowed to sell their games, as well as provide them to the public for free. 

To be able to browse all the free content, you can look through the categories in the main menu, and use the convenient filter to search the ones which you need.

This is what makes GameDev Market one of the easiest-to-use and beginner-friendly game asset websites today. The sidebar has all the categories listed carefully, so if you’re looking for some 2D art or sprites which are absolutely free, then all you need to do is to click on the right options.

When it comes to the category of free character assets, the site provides a lot of easy downloadable links to help you out.

Moreover, to make things even easier for the newer developer and artist, the asset pages apart from housing, the content zip file also has detailed information about what's inside it. It also catalogs as well as houses the download links of the software that are compatible with these assets, so that the newcomer doesn't have to worry about much.

GameDev Market is just amazing when it comes to promoting indie game developers and indie concept artists. With the right marketing and game design, this website can indeed help you with making your own customer base as well as securing a decent side income.

4. Game Art 2D 

The Game Art 2D website has one of the biggest catalogs of 2D arts, assets, and sprites in the entire world.

They have an incredible gallery of royalty-free game assets which is perfect for making both commercial as well as personal game projects and artworks, without having to worry about credits all that much.

However, many of the assets do tend to come with a price tag on this website, and the content of free stuff is quite limited in comparison to some of the other websites out there.

As the site mainly deals with having a vast library of 2D assets, the 3D and sound FX category suffers as a result, but there isn’t all that much to complain about here. 

The quality of the assets is incredible, to say the least, and the wide range of versatile uses that they offer the designer is just amazing, making the website a must-visit for every game developer.

The game sprites, like a lot of the conventional stock images, come in many styles ranging from your more popular sprites to tilesets to even some basic concept art.

Though their collection of free downloads is rather small, there are still worth checking out, as you can really do a lot of amazing work with just the ones that they have.

This site is not exactly capable of being a staple go-to for any designer, but its unique and trustworthy library does have a lot of assets that you can look into from time to time.

5. CraftPix 

CraftPix is a relatively newer website and features some of the most unique and craziest game assets and sprites that one can ask for. 

It will allow you access to a lot of casino GUIs for making mobile games, as well as custom 2D backgrounds for side-scroller games. 

As it caters to helping developers make games for various platforms, its library and asset formatting are quite versatile and sizeable. Hence, this website will not make you feel limited if you’re planning to do something different with the available assets. 

But, what we love the most about CraftPix is that their asset list is constantly growing, and newer sprites and character designs are being added almost every day. Moreover, most of these game assets are added by the creators of the website themselves; this makes the forum highly personalized and well-maintained with a convenient search bar and filter.

However, this doesn’t mean that the website is not open to others offering their very own sprite and model designs. CraftPrix is a fantastic platform to upload and share your own character images on and get a considerable customer base as well as a fan following. 

The website is also an incredible indie game developer’s hub. The custom sprites and assets that are already present in their library are just perfect for making a lot of engaging and interactive side-scroller games. 

So, when it comes to building recognition for your work and promoting premium assets as well as some high-quality freebies for some extra income, then this website is simply one of the best.

6. Reddit/r/Game Assets 

No matter what you’re looking for, Reddit will most probably have it. 

It has a community for almost everything, so, it’s really not all that surprising that there are a lot of subreddit forums on art, digital painting, and innovative game assets. 

However, we will not be asking you to scour through every Reddit forum to find the one that houses the best game sprites and character models. We have done the hard work for you and found that /r/GameAssets is going to be the best page for all game assets-related content.

/r/GameAssets has an amazingly large library of curated free game assets from all across the web.

There is no designated character model that you will not find here. From fanart to even cosplays to unique and creatively designed sprites, the forum has some of the best assets that the internet has ever come up with.

However, the submissions are not exactly direct in this forum. It’s done through the inclusion of primary links, which leads to the main website from which you can very easily download the zip file.

The community here is also not as big as some of the other websites out there, but even with just 9,500 subscribers, the users are much more active than most groups and provide links to fantastic 2D and 3D models every now and then.

This might seem rather slow to the more active game developers, but if given the right time and patience, this forum can indeed provide you with some gems.

7. Kenny.nl

This Netherlands, based game asset website, has for some time now created some of the best RPG-themed character art and game sprite. 

So, if you’re looking to create your own role-playing adventure, then this website is going to come incredibly handy in providing you with all the elements for your project.  

They have some really cool free assets which have been made part of the public domain, and you are not going to have any problems with their licensing and crediting if you wish to use them for commercial purposes. 

The site search bar and filter tools are also very easy to use, and you can browse through all the free game graphics sections by just selecting the category and then filtering out the themes and genres that you’re looking for.  

Moreover, Kenny.nl also makes sound FX as well as game sources to help more beginner developers along to getting their first project up and running. 

The site is very beautifully designed and is often frequented by indie game developers who are trying to achieve a wider customer and earn some money on the side by selling their games to the wider public.

Conclusion

Picking the perfect website that has the exact images that you are looking for in your game is not all that easy to achieve. But we hope that out of the seven that we have listed today, at least one out of them was able to provide you with what you wanted. 

Till next time!

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