These Are The Best Sports Video Games Soundtracks of All-Time

By Richard Janvrin Contributor Updated: 27 June 2024

Richard Janvrin Contributor

Richard has been writing about sports since he was a teenager. Still, his first professional role came in 2015, covering all things NFL and fantasy football-related. From there, in December 2018, he started in the sports betting industry, covering sportsbook reviews before arriving to where he is today. 

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The Best Sports Video Games Soundtracks

Before there was NBA mobile betting or, really, any legal online wagering for sports, the way we connected with these top leagues and players was through video games.

Along with these titles to create your player, run a franchise, or play online with friends in later iterations, there was the music.

Here, in no particular order, we’ll explore the best sports video game soundtracks of all time. That said, we will declare the best sports video game OST for hockey, baseball, and football since numerous titles within those sports appear.

As a disclaimer, and because music is so subjective and the interests vary, we’ll tell you now: This list is mostly comprised of rock and metal-driven soundtracks. These songs always felt like they made the most sense, especially for games of contact sports like football or hockey.

There’s nothing better than loading up the play screen and hearing a massive guitar riff in the background accompanied by booming drums to get you pumped up.

With that out of the way, let’s explore our list of sports video game soundtracks that defined the genre.

Best Sports Video Game OST (Hockey): NHL 23
Best Sports Video Game OST (Baseball): MLB 07: The Show
Best Sports Video Game OST (Football): Madden NFL 2006 and 2010
Best Sports Game Soundtracks (BMX): Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX
Best Sports Video Game OST (Wrestling): WWE Smackdown! Vs. Raw 2007
Best Sports Video Game Soundtracks Honorable Mention

Best Sports Video Game OST (Hockey): NHL 23

We’re more of a Madden fan, but we were floored when we discovered the NHL 23 soundtrack. This game is littered with a plethora of excellent songs.

As time has passed, rap and hip-hop have become more and more popular; thus, rock and metal is somewhat fading into the background of soundtracks across all genres of games.

However, it seems the NHL is different. You can often hear metal played during real-life games, and there are elements of that in this soundtrack.

This game has the following notable tracks:

A Day To Remember – Miracle: This track brought “ADTR” back to their more metalcore roots, enlisting Wage War guitar player and songwriter Cody Quistad to assist. There are multiple breakdowns in here with soaring ADTR choruses.
Coheed and Cambria – The Liars Club: From their 2022 album Vaxis II, Coheed and Cambria certainly has a unique sound thanks to their frontman, Claudio Sanchez. This song is far more digestible than a lot of their discography. They enlisted top metal/rock producer Zakk Cervini (Architects, Machine Gun Kelly, Bring Me The Horizon, Bad Omens) for this record.
Korn – Forgotten: Korn revolutionized music in the late 1990s and early 2000s, bringing nu-metal to the mainstream, and their record “Requiem” featured numerous tracks of them attempting to revitalize that old sound. This song is immediately identifiable when playing NHL 23. The first 30 seconds feature a massive and catchy guitar riff and Jonathan Davis’ signature vocals throughout.
Motionless in White (feat. Caleb Shomo) – Red, White & Boom: Motionless in White has numerous staples for the metalcore genre, but as time has progressed, they’ve dabbled a bit more with a Breaking Benjamin/Marilyn Manson-like style, and that was the case here. The bridge here has a southern flair, followed by Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo’s appearance.
Wage War – Manic: We mentioned their guitar player earlier, and now his band, Wage War, is here. As time went on with Wage War, they’ve somewhat gone away from their “Blueprints” era but still dabble in breakdown-centric music. With “Manic,” they attempted to combine their metalcore style with “clean singing” flavors from frontman Briton Bond and a fry-talking vocal similar to the artist Corpse. This song is 2:45 and is a wild ride that you can’t help but get pumped up to while playing NHL 23.

Best Sports Video Game OST (Baseball): MLB 07: The Show

The MLB “The Show” franchise has truly set baseball games apart from those of years past. Sure, there are some excellent older games like MLB Baseball 2005 with Manny Ramirez on the cover, but The Show added something special, including their “Road to the Show” mode.

This game’s cover featured former New York Mets third baseman David Wright and again had plenty of stellar tracks. These weren’t as heavy as those mentioned above, but they did have plenty of nostalgic sounds.

My Chemical Romance – This Is How I Disappear: During this era, there were few “Hot Topic”-like bands bigger than “MCR.” Their “The Black Parade” album was massive, selling 4,000,000 copies as of 2019. Here, their track “This is How I Disappear,” well, uh, appeared. It had a booming riff off the start, followed by frontman Gerard Way screaming “Go!”—that’s all that’s needed to get hyped up.
Fall Out Boy – The Carpal Tunnel of Love: This album, “Infinity on High,” was definitely more in the pop rock realm, but The Carpal Tunnel of Love was once again a song that had a brief and isolated guitar riff before Patrick Stump comes in with his signature sound. You can’t help but hear the line of the chorus “We’re so miserable and stunning,” and his “whoas” in between them and for those of our generation, be brought back to the mid-2000s.
Chevelle – Antisaint: There are two Chevelle songs on this soundtrack, but their “Vena Sera” album was unlike any other in their discography for us. That album, of course, had the hit “Humanoid,” but Antisaint fit the sports game soundtrack perfectly with its massive riffs and Pete Loeffler’s iconic voice and screams.

Best Sports Video Game OST (Football): Madden NFL 2006 and 2010

The Madden franchise in the mid-to-late 2000s and early 2010s had arguably some of the best sports game soundtracks, and 2006 and 2010 didn’t disappoint. This was the first year that two athletes — Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu — were on the game’s cover. When the cover was revealed, it went down in the history books of legendary sports video game posts.

Madden 2006

Avenged Sevenfold – Bat Country: This is one of the best Avenged Sevenfold songs of all time, clocking in at more than five minutes with iconic riffs throughout.
Bullet for My Valentine – 4 Words (To Choke Upon): “Bullet” defined metalcore during this period. You might know them for their hit “Tears Don’t Fall.”
Coheed and Cambria – Welcome Home: Our all-time favorite Coheed song, the opening riff of this song is immediately identifiable.

Madden 2010

Killswitch Engage – Reckoning: The Howard Jones era of Killswitch is many fans’ favorite time, and Reckoning is an example of his diverse vocal ability. From his screams to soaring “clean singing” vocals, Reckoning had it all for a more “mainstream” metalcore song.
Korn – Blind: Off their self-titled record from 16 years before the game came out, seeing Blind on the soundtrack was surprising. However, when you reach the part where the vocals begin, and Davis screams, “Are you ready?” nothing else gets the adrenaline pumping quite that hard. This was the perfect thing to listen to before going into a game in franchise mode.
Pantera – Walk: There might not be a more iconic opening riff for a metal song than “Walk” by Pantera. Just listen to it. You’ll see.
Rage Against the Machine – Guerrilla Radio: Rage has always been a staple of rock and metal and is sometimes lumped in with nu-metal. Tom Morello (guitar), Tom Commerford (bass), and Zack De La Rocha (vocals) are a dynamic trio. This is one of their more digestible songs in terms of structure.
Slipknot – Duality: When this song was listed on the soundtrack, it was stunning. Duality is, of course, one of the more mainstream Slipknot songs, but seeing Slipknot on a sports game soundtrack was incredibly surprising.
System Of A Down – Sugar: Even if you’re not really a rock or metal fan, System Of A Down (SOAD) are a band that seemingly everyone has either heard of or likes to varying degrees.

Best Sports Game Soundtracks (BMX): Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX

Skating and BMX aren’t nearly as popular now as they used to be, but the era of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Dave Mirra, and even more cartoonish games like SSX Tricky drew sports fans of all kinds to these more niche sports.

This soundtrack did an excellent job of balancing some punk, nu-metal, and more traditional rock/metal songs.

Deftones – Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away): This track alone makes the soundtrack. This is one of the most iconic nu-metal/metal songs ever. Deftones’ “Around the Fur” album is one that, in 100 years, we’ll look back on with fond memories. There’s something incredibly atmospheric about this song, and frontman Chino Moreno’s vocals bring a soothing presence to a more high-intensity sport of BMX while getting crushed by the instrumentation. This is up there among the top tracks of all sports video game OSTs.
Rage Against the Machine – Wake Up: This song’s funky riffs make for an excellent complement to this BMX game.
Sum 41 – Makes No Difference: A pop-punk staple. A perfect fit for this game.

Best Sports Video Game OST (Wrestling): WWE Smackdown! Vs. Raw 2007

When you think of sports, you may not immediately think of WWE, but it’s technically a sport, right?

Right?

Well, at the very least, sports entertainment. The Smackdown! vs. Raw series was nothing short of immaculate for that time.

Nonpoint – Alive & Kicking/Bullet with a Name: This game had two songs from nu-metal/rock outfit Nonpoint. Alive & Kicking and Bullet with a Name are easily some of their most popular songs.
Three Days Grace – Animal I Have Become/Riot: Another band with two songs, Three Days Grace were a staple “gateway” band for rock/metal kids of that era.
POD – Booyaka 619: Not only is POD another top-tier nu-metal band, but they also provided the intro music for WWE superstar Rey Mysterio.

Best Sports Video Game Soundtracks Honorable Mention

Madden NFL 2004, 2007, and 2008: It still blows our mind that bands like Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for My Valentine, Adema, Atreyu, and more were on these soundtracks. Our favorite song on any of these games was Ex’s and Oh’s by Atreyu. This was truly a pivotal moment for kids interested in rock and metal and was likely the final piece to convert them into a more metal sound while enjoying these games.
NHL 06 and 09: NHL 2006 also had similar songs to Madden 2006, including Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet for My Valentine. NHL 2009 also included Avenged Sevenfold (Afterlife) and Bullet for My Valentine (Hearts Burst into Flame). This game also featured a metal/rock band that was popular for maybe a year or two, Black Tide, and their song Warriors of Time. NHL 2009 also housed Canadian metal juggernaut Protest the Hero and their incredibly riffy track “The Dissentience.” Coheed can also be found in this game with “The Running Free.”