How I Found My First Game Projects as a Composer (and How You Can Too)

Marika Speck
Aug 22
3 min read

Updated: Aug 24

When I first got into the game industry as a 3d artist, the industry still felt… well, a bit like a small village. On my very first day at the games academy, the professor basically dropped the only advice that mattered:

“Doesn’t matter how good you are… if no one knows you, you’re not getting work. Go meet people.”

At first, I thought: Really? That’s it? That’s the big secret? But of course, he was right.

Networking - going to events, talking to people, hanging around at conventions - that’s what opened doors. And because the scene was smaller back then, you’d bump into people again and again. Some of those “random students” I met in the hallway 14 years ago? They’re now working at big studios. And the funny part is: they still remember who showed up and said hi back then.

So… how do you actually find game projects to work on today?

1. Start Small (and Yes, Sometimes for Free)

I know nobody loves to hear this, but here’s the truth: I started out working on hobby projects for free.

I would find people I knew working on portfolio games, or on some game dev forums, Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook who were working on passion projects, and I’d simply ask:

“Hey, can I make music for your game?”

Was it glamorous? No.

Did it pay bills? Definitely not.

But it taught me everything:

How to actually finish music, not just start it.
How to handle feedback (sometimes brutal, sometimes vague).
How to collaborate with real humans, not just my DAW.
How to work with reference tracks
How to polish a track until the dev likes it

2. Create Something That Can Find You

After a while, I realised I didn’t always want to chase projects. So I started writing music packs and uploading them to the Unreal Marketplace.

I did a bit of research and picked genres I liked, but with only a few products on the Unreal store.. and to be honest... most of them sounded terrible. So I had the goal to make it better, to learn and if that is working out, to get some passive income. Today Unreal is overrun with AI music, but that's even good for you. Dev´s now look for music that has higher quality, just label it as "human-made"

As an artist, I was able to create my own cover and marketing images (today, tools like Canva make that a breeze). I uploaded those packs to YouTube too, not expecting much.

But slowly, developers started reaching out.

YouTube gave me reach.
The Unreal Store promoted new products sometimes.
And suddenly I was being found by devs who wanted exactly the kind of music I was good at.

That’s a huge advantage: if someone contacts you because they already like your style, you don’t need to “convince” them. They know what they’ll get.

So find your style and be visible online!

3. Where Else Can You Look?

If I were starting out today, I’d also check:

Unity Asset Store – still plenty of room for unique, well-made music packs.
Itch.io & Game Jams – tons of small teams looking for composers. Great way to practice under real deadlines.
Discord communities – dev servers are full of opportunities if you show up and contribute.
LinkedIn – yes, really. Share your music, connect with devs, make yourself visible.

4. Build Your Online Presence

It’s not just about making music - it’s about being discoverable.

Some quick wins:

Upload tracks to YouTube with game-related keywords.
Share short clips on Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok.
Post about your work-in-progress - devs love seeing process, not just polished reels.
Comment and interact on game dev posts (but don’t spam).

⚠️ And here’s the trap: a lot of people think they need to crank out content non-stop, every single day, to stay relevant. Honestly? That just buries you in the noise. Posting filler for the algorithm rarely helps. What works is quality,

a demo reel, a devlog-style video, or a pack that actually shows your style. One solid post will travel much further than ten “meh” ones.

So don’t burn yourself out trying to out-post the internet.

You DON´T have to become a TikTok entertainer. You’re a composer, not an influencer. Make fewer things, but make them good, that’s how you get noticed. Put effort into making something worth sharing, and let that represent you.