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I'm making a game with unity, and i'm planing release the game in steam as FREE. I'm using free assets from unity asset store, and also i'm using free assets models from another sites. I always see if the 3d models are free. I'm no using models like Batman, that have rights from DC. But for example i use a model of door or a stair.

My question is, can i publish my game in steam, or another place, without care about someone someone processing me because i use his 3d models, that is free?

Vinicius Morais
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    "Free" isn't enough information. You need to check the specific licence on each asset. It's possible the asset is "free" to download, but requires a licensing fee or special permission to publish it in a game. Can you please edit your question to include the text of a specific asset licence you need help interpreting? – DMGregory May 05 '20 at 13:19
  • I have to check all my assets, i'm using a lot. – Vinicius Morais May 05 '20 at 13:25
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    Related: https://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/173430/do-i-have-to-credit-the-author-of-a-free-asset-from-the-asset-store – Vaillancourt May 05 '20 at 15:48

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To be sure you need to check the license for each asset to see if you have any legal restriction - most free assets I have seen have no such restriction, but some do require crediting, others are free for demo purposes only.

Regrettably this isn't enough to be 100% certain, at one point 7 Days to Die was taken off Steam for using an asset that they'd purchased on the Unity Asset store, but had been uploaded by someone who didn't own the copyright. Unity takes this seriously and actively curates their asset store, so it's quite rare, and if you did get caught with an asset you didn't have rights to you could probably amend your game and republish it, and be given the benefit of the doubt.

Additionally, while not a legal consideration by using free or low cost assets you run the risk of being classed by players as an asset flip, which can cause some potential players to just skip over the game without playing it.

Brett
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  • The chance of being called out as an asset flip usually increases if you combine assets from different sources in poor taste. Like using assets together which have very different aesthetics or which are either much better or much worse in quality than their surrounding. – Philipp May 05 '20 at 13:58