FMOD faq

Free!

Yes that's right, if your product is not intended to make any money, and is not charged for in any way, then you may use FMOD in it for FREE!
Many people use it for free until their commercial product is about to be published. This is a great way to evaluate FMOD and see if it suits your needs without any obligations.
If you want to use it in a commercial product, then please see below for pricing and conditions.

Commercial Pricing

FMOD is sold on a one-title, or one-site (unlimited titles) basis.

Platform pricing for 1 title. (US Dollars)

WinCE	$1,000
Linux *	$1,000
Win32	$2,000
Macintosh	$2,000
PlayStation 2	$4,000
XBox	$4,000
GameCube	$4,000

* Linux is thrown in for free if purchased with another platform.
By itself it costs the standard license fee advertised above.

Pricing scale for multiple titles (site license).

1 Site (unlimited titles)	x2.5
Engine Resale (Integration into a commercial, non audio related engine with intention to be re-sold as middleware. I.e. game engine, graphics engine.)	contact sales

Multi-platform discounts!
When purchasing for multiple platforms, you receive a discount
with the more platforms you buy.

2 PC Platforms (Win/WinCE/Linux/Mac)	20% off
3 PC Platforms (Win/WinCE/Linux/Mac)	30% off
2 Console Platforms (PS2/XBox/GC)	20% off
3 Console Platforms (PS2/XBox/GC)	30% off

Discounts for PC and Consoles are separate, they cannot be combined (i.e. 1 PC platform and 2 console platforms do not equal a 3 platform discount).
If Linux is included along with any other PC platforms, it does not count towards platform discounts, as it is included for free.

Examples

2.5

0.8

2.5

0.8

0.7

0.8

2.5

Full FMOD source code

Shareware, hobbyist agreement

Because some developers are single hobbyist programmers, or sell at an extreme low price-points with no distribution except through a website, and no expectations of high sales that could warrant or recoup the price of a normal product/site license, the 'shareware/budget' license option has been created.

1 product, PC* only.

$100

* PC is classified as WinCE, Win32, Linux or Macintosh

As in the full commercial license pricing information above, the multi-platform discount applies, but all platforms are based on the $100 price point across the board. For a site license (unlimited shareware/budget products), the 2.5 multiplier still applies.

Conditions / Limitations

'Shareware' FMOD licenses must be approved on a case by case basis to verify that they qualify for budget or shareware status. The licensee must be an individual/hobbyist and not a registered business or company with more than 1 employee or director. A shareware license is available for 1 shareware / budget title only. No source code is provided with this license.
To order online using a credit card you can do so with the following links.
To order a one product, 1 platform shareware/budget license, you can do so online here.
To order a one product, 2 platform shareware/budget license, you can do so online here.
To order a one site, multiple products, 1 platform shareware/budget license, you can do so online here.
To order a one site, multiple products, 2 platform shareware/budget license, you can do so online here.
For other combinations that aren't listed, please contact sales@fmod.org

MP3 Licensing issues

If you intend to use mp3 in your product, you will have to contact Thompson Multimedia and arrange to pay for an mp3 license, which is separate to FMOD.

See www.mp3licensing.com for more information on fees.

For game developers, you can get a 'game license' to use mp3. This is only $2500. See http://www.mp3licensing.com/royalty/games.html

Note that with games distributing less than 5000 copies, no mp3 license is required and you can use it for free.

License features

All options include FREE full personal support by the actual author of the product. Many people are amazed at the personal level of attention they get, either by phone, email or even personal visit (if applicable).. MANY new features have been included in a very short turnaround just because someone asked for it.
FMOD is actively developed with exciting new features on the drawing board all the time.
NO ROYALTIES are required.
Full source code is included with a commercial licenses. (except for shareware/budget licenses).
Free upgrades to source code and new versions are provided each time a new version of FMOD comes out..
FMOD is extremely cheap for the performance, power and flexibility of the system, compared to other systems. You wont find audio middleware with so many features and cross platform support.
FMOD is already being used, tried and tested in commercial game environments. It has been getting rave reviews from users and programmers alike! The ease of use of an extremely flexible API with unbelievable performance makes it the only choice for your in game audio!
FMOD is downloaded about 15,000 times a month by developers. These developers then distribute their products to end users. You cant get much better testing than that!
Have the advantage of actually being able to download the FULL version freely for your own inspection and evaluation, without being locked into any contracts. See the contact section to email Firelight Technologies to arrange for further information.
Note that FMOD does not include a free license to distribute MP3 in your product. See the section above "MP3 Licensing issues" for more information.

To ask about or proceed with licensing FMOD, write to sales@fmod.org and get a quick response!

Comments from happy customers

"I just saw the recent release of FMOD and wanted to say "wow". Nice to see that a lot of the things I wanted our Engineers to develop into A3D actually got done by an outside company." David Gasior / Synovial / Former Technology Evangelist at Aureal

"Grand compliments on FMOD, it's so easy to use it's almost scary! :)" Christoffer Mollenhoff

"I must say... FMOD is the BEST sound engine I've had the pleasure of working with dude. It's designed the way I would make it ya know. A good product is one that you can get close too in a short period of time, and be productive... and I was able to take fmod and drop it in and use it... so cool. I've been telling other developers about it so hopefully you will hear from them soon." Thanks again Jarrod Davis / JDS Games

"FMOD seems to be superior by means quality and performance to other products we were using and tested. We have decided that FMOD is the best sound engine for our usage." "QSound sounds noisy and muffled compared to FMOD" Ofer Raz

"FMOD is far and away the best sound system for the PC and the API is solid for use on consoles. It's ease of use and stability is unparalleled! As an example I had to add sound to a milestone in about 2 hours, and I ended up having 3d positioned sound in about 1!! We are confident enough as to use it for all products in the future. Also the tech support is fantastic, with an email back with some sort of fix/debug within the hour." Shane Stevens / Blue Tongue Software.