Free Sunset and Golden Hour HDRIs

Low sun is the most flattering light in 3D and the reason so many game screenshots are taken at sunset. Long shadows give the geometry shape, and the warm-to-cool gradient across the sky separates objects from their background for free. The catch is directionality: a strong sun in an HDRI casts one hard shadow, so orient the environment deliberately rather than accepting whatever rotation it loads at.

Everything here is free to download from the source site. These results come from Poly Haven, AmbientCG. Licences vary by file and are shown on each card. Nothing is hosted by us, and every link goes to the original page so you get the current version and the real licence terms.

Bambanani SunsetPoly Haven · Dimitrios Savva, Jarod GuestCC0Belfast SunsetPoly Haven · Greg Zaal, Dimitrios SavvaCC0Belfast Sunset (Pure Sky)Poly Haven · Greg Zaal, Dimitrios Savva, Jarod GuestCC0Cedar Bridge Sunset 1Poly Haven · Dario BarresiCC0Cedar Bridge Sunset 2Poly Haven · Dario BarresiCC0Dam RoadPoly Haven · Greg ZaalCC0Dikhololo SunsetPoly Haven · Greg ZaalCC0Farm SunsetPoly Haven · Dimitrios Savva, Jarod GuestCC0Fish Eagle HillPoly Haven · Greg ZaalCC0Grasslands SunsetPoly Haven · Dimitrios Savva, Jarod GuestCC0Industrial SunsetPoly Haven · Sergej MajborodaCC0Industrial Sunset 02Poly Haven · Sergej MajborodaCC0Industrial Sunset 02 (Pure Sky)Poly Haven · Jarod Guest, Sergej MajborodaCC0Industrial Sunset (Pure Sky)Poly Haven · Jarod Guest, Sergej MajborodaCC0Evening Sky HDRI 032 AAmbientCGCC0Evening Sky HDRI 022 BAmbientCGCC0Evening Sky HDRI 044 BAmbientCGCC0Evening Sky HDRI 045 AAmbientCGCC0Evening Sky HDRI 044 AAmbientCGCC0Evening Sky HDRI 037 AAmbientCGCC0Evening Sky HDRI 026 BAmbientCGCC0Evening Sky HDRI 005 BAmbientCGCC0Evening Sky HDRI 039 AAmbientCGCC0Evening Sky HDRI 040 BAmbientCGCC0Evening Sky HDRI 022 AAmbientCGCC0Evening Sky HDRI 030 AAmbientCGCC0Evening Sky HDRI 021 AAmbientCGCC0Evening Sky HDRI 039 BAmbientCGCC0

Search all HDRIs in the live asset library →

Using an HDRI in a game

An HDRI is an equirectangular image with brightness values well above white, which is what lets it act as a light source instead of just a backdrop. Every major web engine can load one as an environment map, and doing so gives you ambient lighting and reflections in a single step.

Resolution should be chosen for the job. If the sky is never visible, 1K is plenty, since you're only using it for light and reflection. If the player can look up, 2K or 4K is worth the download. The 8K and 16K versions are for offline rendering.

If you want a sky that doesn't exist in any library, the skybox generator makes a 360° environment from a text description.

Licences, briefly

CC0 means public domain: use it commercially, modify it, ship it, no credit required. That covers everything from Kenney, Quaternius, KayKit, Poly Haven, and AmbientCG.

Freesound and OpenGameArt host a mix. Some files are CC0, others are CC-BY (credit required) or CC-BY-SA (credit required and derivatives must carry the same licence, which is a real constraint on a commercial game). The licence is set per file by whoever uploaded it, so check the source page before you ship.

The complete guide to game asset licences covers what each one actually requires and where teams usually get it wrong.

More free HDRIs

Free HDRI Skies · Free Studio HDRIs · Free Night and Dusk HDRIs

Or search every source at once, and see the complete guide to free game assets for the full picture on where this art comes from and how to use it.