How licensed soundtracks changed the gaming world

Rainer Etzweiler

22/12/2025

Translation: machine translated

From "Wipeout" and "Tony Hawk" to "FIFA" and "Vice City": Licensed soundtracks have not only shaped games, but entire careers. Including mine.

When people talk about video game soundtracks, they think of the great composers. Nobuo Uematsu, who made entire generations howl with his «Final Fantasy» works, Bear McCreary, whose orchestral force «turned God of War» into an audiovisual slaughterfest. Or Yoko Shimomura, whose «Kingdom Hearts»-OST can hold its own with the best Disney productions.

In addition to these masterpieces, there is another, no less important tradition: the licensed soundtrack. Songs that were not written for a game, but are inextricably linked to it.

Personally, I can no longer listen to Offspring's «All I Want» without immediately seeing yellow taxis racing through San Francisco. The song and «Crazy Taxi» are so fused in my brain that I automatically reach for an invisible controller at the first «Yeah». Many gaming fans probably feel the same way. Be it with Bad Religion and «Tony Hawk», M83 and «GTA V» or Blondie and «Vice City».

Licensed soundtracks are more than just background music. They characterise games, define eras and - as in my case with «FIFA 04» - can even change a life. More on this later.

A brief history of licensed game music

Many believe that «Journey», released in 1983, was the first video game with a licensed soundtrack. The arcade game revolves around the US rock band of the same name and lets you slip into the role of the band members. Chiptune versions of their songs are played, all of which sound spectacularly shitty.

This failed experiment was not the first attempt, however: the true premiere took place two years earlier: in 1981, «Donkey Kong» used a sample from the intro song to the TV series «Dragnet». Not the most glamorous start to a revolution, but you have to start somewhere.

Little worth mentioning happened over the next few years. The limited sound chips offered too little for developers to see much potential in them. That changed in 1990 with «Michael Jackson's Moonwalker».

This fever dream of a game in which mecha-Michael Jackson (!) has to save helpless children (!!) with dance magic (!!!) actually deserves its own article. But let's stick to the topic: the side-scroller offers various 8-bit arrangements of the musician's greatest hits. They still sound great today. A strong argument in favour of licensed music in video games.

The CD revolution

The real breakthrough came with the 3DO. The hapless device from EA Games founder Trip Hawkins was not the first console with a CD drive (that honour goes to the PC Engine), but it was the first system to have games that exploited the full potential of the then still new medium.

Suddenly, storage space was no longer a limiting factor. Developers could pack real, uncompressed music into their games.

«Road Rash 3DO» utilised this possibility in 1994 and blasted grunge tracks by Soundgarden and Monster Magnet out of the speakers while players knocked each other off motorbikes.

A year later, «Wipeout» set new standards on the Playstation: the future racer combined fast hovercraft action with a soundtrack that brought together the who's who of the electronic scene. Chemical Brothers, Orbital, Leftfield - «Wipeout» was practically a rave on a disc.

The cultural big bang

If any single franchise epitomises the influence of licensed soundtracks, it's «Tony Hawk's Pro Skater». The series did more for the commercialisation of punk, ska and alternative rock than MTV and all the music magazines put together.

Goldfinger's «Superman», Dead Kennedys' «Police Truck», Rage Against the Machines «Guerrilla Radio» became the anthems of a whole generation of kids who slapped their knees to the songs - trying to imitate the skate tricks. Ollies are more difficult in real life after all.

The «Tony Hawk» games almost single-handedly brought the trend sport out of the subculture. They provided the blueprint for licensed soundtracks as we know them today.

The blueprint

Rockstar already understood how important music is for the atmosphere in «GTA III». «Vice City» took the concept to the extreme a year later (after twelve months, a new «GTA», what a time to be alive). Set in 1986, the Miami pastiche was not just a revolutionary open-world game. It was a time capsule.

Over 100 licensed songs spread across nine different in-game radio stations. Including the hits of Blondie, Hall & Oates, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, A Flock of Seagulls and many more.

«Vice City» understood something fundamental: music is more than just background music. It defines an era, it establishes a setting and creates an emotional resonance that goes far beyond the gameplay. When you're driving through the neon-lit streets in a Stinger and «I Ran (So Far Away)» is blaring from the radio, you're in the 80s. Even if you never experienced it.

Just two years later (WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE), «GTA: San Andreas» repeated the recipe for success and completed the second-best developer hat trick in the video game world to date (first place belongs to Squaresoft for «Final Fantasy VII - IX»)

The «Need for Speed» series and numerous other racing games followed a similar path. However, they focussed on contemporary tracks and established themselves as a springboard for up-and-coming artists.

And «FIFA»? More on that in a moment.

Let's get physical!

Music can not only be used as an accompaniment, but can also be a central element of the game. Konami's «Dance Dance Revolution» franchise started in 1998 on the Playstation and in the arcades. The gameplay requires the correct input of the displayed button prompts in time to the music. Either using a gamepad or with full physical effort on a dance mat or stage.

The series started in 2004 with licensed songs and laid the foundation for the plastic instrument hype in the years that followed. «Guitar Hero» and «Rock Band» transformed living rooms around the world into improvised concert stages and gave an idea of what it feels like to be a rock star. Even if we did look like complete arseholes with cheap children's guitars around our necks.

The games made so much money that even the two remaining Beatles eventually found «Hold my pint!» and released the rights for «The Beatles: Rock Band».

The price of success

With success came the inevitable problem: exploding costs. As more and more developers recognised the value of licensed soundtracks, prices rose exponentially. The soundtrack for «Saints Row 2» already cost one million dollars in 2008.

Even more problematic: licences have expiry dates. If the contract expires and is not renewed, the game must either disappear from the online stores or be re-released with a reduced soundtrack. «GTA: Vice City» met this fate in 2012 - some of the most iconic songs were removed, including Ozzy Osbourne's «Bark at the Moon», «Wow» by Kate Bush and «Billie Jean» by Michael Jackson.

«Alan Wake» disappeared completely from the digital stores in 2017 because the music licences had expired. The game only returned after renegotiations. Again with an incomplete soundtrack: David Bowie's «Space Oddity» was permanently cancelled.

The cautious present

These experiences have made the industry more cautious. Sports and racing game franchises continue to rely on licensed music, but beyond that, development studios have become more cautious. Understandably, even if there is a song that fits perfectly with the artistic vision, profit-orientated companies are asking themselves whether its inclusion justifies the expense.

At the same time, there are always games that prove that it is worth the effort and the risk: «Life is Strange» is a great narrative adventure in itself. However, the outstanding soundtrack takes the mystery drama about Max Caulfield two levels higher. I still remember how close I came to the end when the first bars of Foals' «Spanish Sahara» kicked in.

The recently released «Lost Records: Bloom & Rage» by the same developer follows this approach and shows that there is still a place for carefully curated soundtracks. Games where each song has been deliberately chosen to emphasise an emotional beat.

I know first-hand that licensed soundtracks can have a lasting impact. And I'm not just talking about musical taste.

How «FIFA» changed my life

Until the early 2000s, I was a passive music listener. Sure, I liked some acts better than others, and I owned a few CDs. But music wasn't a particularly important part of my life back then. That changed with «FIFA 2004».

I never played the game. Not a single game. But the disc was constantly spinning in the PlayStation 2 of one of my best friends. He was also rarely active on the controller because he was busy smoking joints whose size and potency would have made even Snoop Dogg break out in a cold sweat. Instead, the soundtrack of the sports game played in the background: Kasabian, The Caesars, Kings of Leon. Bands that format radio had previously denied me. I fell HARD for this sound.

Record shops became my second home Online, I later found like-minded people on Myspace (R.I.P.) and Last.FM.

And because I can't do anything in my life half-baked, it became an obsession that soon defined my professional life. I ended up at the now defunct RCKSTR magazine, where I got to rant and rave about my love of music for 15 years. In addition, I launched a niche, short-lived music career with more enthusiasm than talent and I pushed mixtapes on my friends with the vigour of a Greenpeace promoter at Central Station.

None of this would have happened without that football game, which I've never played to this day.

More than just background music

Licensed soundtracks are said to never develop the same gravitas as an OST. But is that really true?

For many of us, these soundtracks fall on receptive ears in our formative years. They shape our musical tastes, influence our identity and - as in my case - can virtually define our entire lives. This may sound melodramatic, but ask anyone over 30 if they can listen to «All Star» by Smash Mouth without thinking of «Shrek».

The future of licensed game soundtracks remains uncertain. Rising costs, complicated licence negotiations and the risk of songs disappearing from games at some point make it unattractive for developers.

But perhaps «GTA VI» will bring the tradition back into the limelight. Rockstar has already hinted at the announcement that the soundtrack will once again play an essential role. And if anyone has the resources and commitment to establish trends, it's the patrons of potentially the biggest gaming release of all time.

We'll find out in November 2026*.

*Or not. Rockstar release dates are about as reliable as a stepdad who just goes to «for a quick cigarette».

Rainer Etzweiler

Freelance Editor

rainer@rockstar.ch

In the early 90s, my older brother gave me his NES with The Legend of Zelda on it. It was the start of an obsession that continues to this day.

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