Retro Cannon 01 Sound Effect
A longer retro cannon shot for a cannon attack, 0.90 s long.
HorizonX AssetsSound collection
Gun Sound Effects for Games
Gunshot and weapon sound effects for games: 8-bit single shots, machine gun loops, shotguns and cannons, sci-fi lasers, reloads, empty clicks, swords and grenades. Tap a card to hear it, then download it as WAV or MP3.
- 66 sounds
- WAV and MP3
- CC0 public domain
- Read the guide
Gunshots, shotguns and cannons
HorizonX AssetsMachine gun loops
Sci-fi lasers
Reloads, swords and grenades
What is inside
Retro Single Shot 01 to 22 are 8-bit gunshots, from light pistol pops to heavy rifle cracks, and Retro Cannon adds deeper shots. Retro Machine Gun Loop 01 to 09 repeat for as long as the trigger is held, and Retro Shotgun gives the wide blast. Large, Retro and Small Sci-Fi Laser cover blasters and ray guns. Retro Reload and Out Of Ammo finish the loop of a weapon, and swords, a dagger, grenade whistles and a missile launch round out the arsenal. These are game sounds, mostly retro, not recordings of real firearms.
Building a weapon's sound
A weapon sounds right when every part of its loop has a sound: the shot, the empty click when the magazine runs out and the reload. Use a looping sound for automatic fire and stop it on release, instead of retriggering a single shot many times a second. Give each weapon a different pitch or set so players can tell them apart by ear, and vary pitch slightly on every shot so rapid fire does not sound like one sample repeating.
Mixing gunfire
Gunshots are short and loud, so they cut through music easily; keep them a little below explosions so the bigger events still stand out. Pan shots to where the shooter is on screen, and lower the volume of enemies' weapons compared with the player's own. In a busy fight, limit how many shots can play at once.
Formats and license
Each sound downloads as WAV for editing and MP3 for the web. The sounds come from Juhani Junkala, Kenney and other creators who released them under CC0, so they are in the public domain: you can use them in commercial games and videos without credit. Each sound's page shows its source and license.
Are these real gun recordings?
No. They are game sounds: most are 8-bit, made for retro and pixel-art games, and the lasers are sci-fi blasters. For a realistic firearm, look for a field recording instead.
Can I use these gun sounds in a commercial game?
Yes. They are CC0 (public domain), so commercial use, editing and redistribution inside your game are allowed without credit.
How do I play a machine gun sound in a game?
Start one of the machine gun loops when the trigger is pressed, set it to loop and stop it on release. It sounds smoother than firing a single-shot sample many times a second.
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Add the hits and the blasts
Tap any card to play it. The full sound library has explosions, impacts, pickups and jingles too.