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commercial projectsPATCH 2026.10.17

How to Get Permission to Use a Video Game Character in a Commercial Project

By VGSources Team 11 min read

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To use a video game character commercially, identify every right involved, find the party that controls each right, and obtain a written license through an official licensing or legal channel before you publish, sell, advertise, or distribute anything. A gameplay, streaming, or fan-content policy is not automatically permission to put that character in a separate game, film, advertisement, product, or other commercial work.

What permission actually covers

A character is rarely just one legal asset. Your proposed project may involve a character’s name, likeness, costume, logo, dialogue, animation, screenshots, gameplay footage, music, story elements, and trademarks. Different companies, contractors, composers, performers, or co-owners may control different parts. Permission for one element does not necessarily clear the others.

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The exact use controls the analysis. A publisher may allow certain gameplay videos while prohibiting commercial advertising, merchandise, or incorporation of the character into another product. Bandai Namco’s video policy, for example, applies to intellectual property it holds or controls and warns that third-party character or music material may require separate permission. SEGA’s streaming guidelines similarly state that third-party intellectual property in gameplay videos requires permission from the appropriate rights holders.

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Commercial purpose should be treated broadly during your initial review. Selling a game is obvious, but paid advertising, sponsored content, a subscription product, a brand campaign, paid downloads, merchandise, a crowdfunded project, and an app that earns advertising or transaction revenue can all require a negotiated license. Bungie’s policy says, “In the event that creators seek to profit from the use of Bungie assets, they must seek permission from Bungie and obtain a license to do so.”

Start by defining the proposed use

Rights holders cannot evaluate a vague request such as “Can I use your character?” Prepare a one-page use brief before contacting anyone. State the facts that determine the value and risk of the license:

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  • Project: Describe the game, film, advertisement, book, event, app, merchandise line, or other work.
  • Appearance: Explain whether the character is playable, shown in a still image, animated, mentioned in dialogue, used as a logo, or included in background material.
  • Audience and business model: Identify the intended audience and whether customers pay, advertisers fund the project, users buy virtual items, or a platform shares revenue.
  • Promotion: List trailers, social posts, store pages, press materials, packaging, influencer campaigns, and advertisements that will show the character.
  • Distribution: Name each platform, storefront, broadcaster, territory, language, and physical or digital format.
  • Term and launch: Give the requested start date, license duration, release window, and any planned reissues or updates.
  • Changes: Explain proposed costume, color, dialogue, story, setting, gameplay, or visual modifications.

If your plans are still flexible, provide alternatives. A rights holder may approve a limited appearance, a particular version of the character, or a noncommercial promotion while rejecting the broader concept.

Inventory every asset before contacting the owner

Create an asset register rather than assuming the publisher owns everything associated with the game. Record the exact source and intended use for each item.

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Asset Questions to answer Why it matters
Character identity What is the exact name, spelling, alias, and version? The name may be protected by trademark, copyright, or both.
Visual design Which model, costume, pose, weapon, color scheme, or redesign will appear? Different installments or artists may involve different rights and approvals.
Logo and marks Will you display a title logo, emblem, slogan, or product mark? Trademark use can require separate brand-guideline approval.
Footage and screenshots Are you capturing gameplay, using supplied assets, or recreating scenes? Footage may include other characters, music, interfaces, and locations.
Dialogue and performance Will you quote lines, use a voice recording, or imitate a performance? Copyright, contract, performer, and personality rights may overlap.
Music and sound Which score, song, sound effect, or recording is included? A publisher may not control every composition or recording in the game.
Story and setting Will you use names, events, fictional places, or distinctive lore? These elements can be protected separately from the character artwork.

Keep the register with your production records. If the concept changes, update it and ask whether the signed permission still covers the new material.

Find the correct rights holder

Begin with the game’s publisher or developer website and look for official intellectual-property, licensing, legal, brand-usage, or permissions information. Use the contact route specified there, not a social-media account, fan forum, or an email address copied from an unverified post. If the page does not accept proposals, ask the company to identify an authorized licensing representative.

Ownership can be layered. A publisher may control the game’s trademark and character art but license music from a record company. A studio may have created the character while a publisher owns commercial rights. A platform license may cover only content published on that platform. WIPO’s discussions of video-game production emphasize the range of contributors and the possibility that rights are divided among them. Its comparative copyright analysis also notes that rights can be restricted by scope, time, or geographic area.

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Ask the first contact to confirm, in writing, which assets it controls and which other parties must approve. Do not assume that buying a copy of the game, downloading an asset, or receiving a friendly response from a community manager transfers any rights.

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Choose the permission route that matches the project

Route What it can cover Questions to ask
Rights-holder licensing inquiry A negotiated license for a commercial project, merchandise, advertising, or another defined use. Does the company accept unsolicited proposals? Which project types and territories are eligible? What materials and approvals are required?
Platform license catalog A platform-specific license offered for listed intellectual property and creation types. Is the exact property listed? What content standards, monetization rules, revenue share, and platform limits apply?
Gameplay or streaming policy Specified uploads, streams, or gameplay videos under the publisher’s stated conditions. Does the policy cover your exact format and commercial model? Does it exclude advertisements, standalone products, or third-party assets?

These routes are not interchangeable. A streaming allowance may permit a monetized video but not a character in your own game. A platform catalog license may permit a creation hosted on that platform but not a console release, film, physical product, or external advertisement.

Platform catalog example

Roblox provides a concrete catalog-based route. Its Creator Hub lets a creator inspect an offered license, review standards and revenue-share conditions, submit a request and pitch, and wait for the rights holder’s review. The catalog is an example of a formal process, not a general license for characters absent from the catalog. Roblox warns: “Publishing content on Roblox that uses someone else’s IP rights without permission violates the Roblox Terms of Use and might result in the removal of the content and your Roblox account.”

Publisher-policy examples

EA’s content policy says not to use its game content for commercial purposes and identifies a special-use inquiry route. That is not a universal ban or universal permission for every publisher; it is a policy to apply to EA content and the particular use described in the policy. Bungie’s policy requires permission and a license when creators seek profit from Bungie assets, while also describing a distinct allowance for certain monetized gameplay videos when at least 20% of the content is player-created. That 20% condition is not a general commercial character-license rule.

SEGA’s guidelines state: “If Gameplay Videos include intellectual property owned by third parties other than SEGA (including characters, music, etc.), then users must obtain permission from all appropriate rights holders.” Bandai Namco likewise limits its policy to intellectual property it holds or controls and flags third-party material. Read the current policy for the specific game; publisher rules can change.

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Prepare a concise licensing request

Your first email or form submission should make the request easy to route internally. Include:

  1. Identification: Your legal name, company, website, contact details, and the person authorized to negotiate.
  2. Project summary: A short description, development stage, intended audience, and the role of the character.
  3. Asset list: The exact character version, logos, footage, dialogue, music, and other requested materials.
  4. Business terms: Price or revenue model, advertising or sponsorship plans, expected distribution, and whether users create or sell content.
  5. Scope: Platforms, countries, languages, formats, term, launch date, and whether the license is exclusive.
  6. Modifications: Proposed edits, new dialogue, costumes, poses, story use, or interaction with your original characters.
  7. Promotion: Every channel where the character will appear, including trailers, store listings, social media, packaging, and paid ads.
  8. Materials: A pitch deck, script, mock-ups, gameplay footage, brand-safety information, and audience or age rating where available.
  9. Decision process: Ask who will review the proposal, what additional documents are required, and whether the company accepts unsolicited requests.

Do not send confidential customer data or an entire unreleased product when a synopsis and mock-up will answer the rights holder’s initial questions. Follow any submission rules on the official page.

Negotiate the license’s boundaries

A license is a defined grant, not a general blessing. Read the agreement against your asset register and production plan. The following terms deserve explicit language:

Term What to define
Licensed property Character name, version, artwork, marks, footage, dialogue, music, and any excluded material.
Media and platforms Game engine, console, mobile, web, film, broadcast, print, social media, storefront, and physical packaging.
Territory and language Countries or regions, language versions, worldwide rights, and geoblocking obligations.
Term Start and end dates, renewal, sell-off period, updates, reissues, and what happens after termination.
Commercial model Sales, subscriptions, advertising, sponsorship, virtual currency, crowdfunding, merchandise, and platform revenue.
Compensation Upfront fee, royalties, minimum guarantee, reporting, audit rights, taxes, expenses, or revenue share.
Approvals Who approves scripts, art, builds, trailers, advertising, packaging, updates, and final credits, and how long review takes.
Modification rights Permitted edits, translations, new dialogue, interaction with original characters, parody elements, and prohibited changes.
Exclusivity Whether another licensee may use the character and whether your exclusivity is limited by product, territory, or period.
Attribution and branding Required notices, trademark symbols, credit wording, logo placement, and brand guidelines.
Compliance and remedies Content standards, takedown duties, correction periods, termination rights, inventory treatment, and post-termination removal.

WIPO’s analysis is a useful reminder that a grant may be narrow in time, territory, or scope. If a term is silent, do not assume the broadest interpretation. Ask for written clarification before production begins.

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Clear third-party material separately

Even after you identify the principal character owner, review the other components. A captured scene could contain a licensed song, a guest character, a celebrity likeness, a trademark on clothing, or a voice performance supplied under a separate contract. A publisher’s gameplay policy may cover only its own intellectual property. SEGA and Bandai Namco expressly warn that third-party material can require separate permission.

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For each additional component, record the rights holder, requested use, territory, term, and evidence of permission. Replace uncleared music, footage, logos, or dialogue rather than assuming a character license cures the problem. If ownership is uncertain, ask the principal licensor whether it will clear the material, provide a substitute, or require you to negotiate directly.

Understand monetization and platform rules

Uploading or monetizing gameplay is not the same as licensing a character for a new commercial work. YouTube explains that monetization depends on commercial-use rights granted by the publisher’s licenses. A platform’s ability to place advertising around your video does not grant ownership of the game’s assets, and a publisher’s fan-content policy does not automatically authorize an advertisement, standalone game, product package, or paid brand campaign.

List every revenue source in the request, including advertising, sponsorship, subscriptions, virtual items, paid upgrades, donations tied to access, merchandise, and licensing your own finished work to another company. If users can create or sell content featuring the character, ask who is responsible for moderation, takedowns, and downstream licensing.

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Do not rely on fair use or fan acceptance as a shortcut

Some jurisdictions recognize fair use or similar exceptions, but whether an exception applies depends on the specific facts and local law. EA’s policy acknowledges that some uses may be permissible under applicable fair-use or similar laws; that acknowledgement does not decide whether your commercial character use qualifies. A transformative purpose, small excerpt, disclaimer, or noncommercial audience does not automatically remove licensing risk.

Likewise, silence is not consent. A rights holder’s failure to answer, a positive comment from a fan, a purchase of the original game, or a prior fan project that remained online is not written authorization. If a project is important enough to launch commercially, obtain a signed grant or redesign it around original or properly licensed material.

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Keep evidence and control production

  1. Store the signed agreement, exhibits, approval emails, asset files, invoices, and rights-holder contacts in one controlled location.
  2. Mark each approved asset with its permitted media, territory, term, and version.
  3. Route scripts, art, builds, trailers, store pages, and advertisements through the approval process required by the agreement.
  4. Track platform updates, expansions, translations, ports, and promotional partners as potential scope changes.
  5. Recheck the publisher and platform policy before launch because policies and catalog terms can change.
  6. Prepare a takedown and replacement plan if the license expires, is terminated, or a third-party clearance fails.

Do not publish while a material approval is pending. A late-stage takedown can affect storefront availability, advertising commitments, physical inventory, and customer support.

Common failure points and fixes

Failure Why it fails Better approach
“I only need permission for the character.” The project also uses music, footage, logos, dialogue, or another character. Submit a complete asset register and clear each component.
Using a streaming policy for a separate product The policy may be limited to gameplay videos. Request a license that expressly covers your product and promotion.
Contacting an unofficial account The person may not have authority to grant rights. Use the official legal, licensing, or brand channel.
Leaving commercial details vague The rights holder cannot price or approve the request. State monetization, platforms, territory, term, and advertising plans.
Assuming worldwide, perpetual rights Licenses are often limited by scope, time, and geography. Negotiate each boundary and document renewals.
Changing the approved concept later New art, dialogue, platforms, or ads may fall outside the grant. Obtain a written amendment before using the change.
Relying on a disclaimer A disclaimer does not grant copyright, trademark, or publicity rights. Use a disclaimer only when the rights holder or counsel says it is appropriate.

What approval timing and cost can you expect?

The available policies do not establish a typical fee, approval rate, or response time for character licenses. Costs and timing depend on the property, project size, territory, exclusivity, media, expected revenue, review workload, and the number of rights holders involved. Do not budget from a supposed industry average or announce a launch date before the licensor confirms its process.

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Ask for the review stages, required materials, expected decision window, fee structure, reporting obligations, and renewal terms. If the company does not provide a timeline, treat approval as uncertain and maintain a rights-cleared backup concept.

When to obtain legal help

This is general information, not jurisdiction-specific legal advice. Consult an intellectual-property licensing lawyer when the project has significant investment, multiple territories, exclusivity, a complex contributor chain, publicity or performer issues, substantial advertising, physical inventory, or a material risk of infringement. Counsel can verify ownership, negotiate warranties and indemnities, review royalty reporting, and assess whether any statutory exception is relevant in the countries where you will operate.

Final pre-launch checklist

  • The exact character, version, and every requested asset are listed.
  • The principal rights holder and any third-party owners are identified.
  • The request was sent through an official licensing, legal, or authorized representative channel.
  • The written grant covers the project, commercial model, media, platforms, territory, language, term, and promotion.
  • Modification limits, approvals, credits, fees, revenue share, and reporting are clear.
  • Music, footage, dialogue, logos, performers, and other third-party components are separately cleared or removed.
  • All launch materials match the approved version.
  • Renewal, termination, takedown, and post-termination obligations are scheduled and assigned.

If any item is unresolved, pause that use or redesign it with original or properly licensed material. Permission is complete only when the written grant matches what audiences will actually see, hear, buy, and share.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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