Clever Audio Plugins(CLAP) For Unreal Engine

We’re bringing CLAP audio plugins support to unreal engine 5. 

With this integration, developers will be able to load and use CLAP plugins directly inside Unreal Engine—whether for mixing, effects, or instruments designed for interactive audio. This means game developers, sound designers, and technical artists will have access to a growing ecosystem of open audio plugins without leaving the Unreal workflow.

Why CLAP?

CLAP (Clever Audio Plugin API) is a modern, open, and extensible plugin standard designed for the future of digital audio. It provides advantages over traditional formats like VST and AU, including:

  • Open-source licensing (no vendor lock-in).

  • High-performance processing designed for modern CPUs.

  • Flexible event handling for instruments and effects.

  • Future-ready extensibility for advanced audio features.

By bringing CLAP into Unreal Engine, we bridge game audio workflows with the same tools music producers and sound engineers rely on.

Key Features Coming Soon

  • Load CLAP Plugins: Use third-party CLAP instruments and effects directly in your Unreal projects.

  • Audio Mixing & Instruments: Integrate CLAP plugins into the Unreal Audio Mixer for real-time sound design and interactive audio systems.

  • Create Your Own CLAP Plugins with MetaSounds: Unreal Engine’s MetaSounds system can be used to design audio graphs that export as CLAP plugins—turning procedural game audio into reusable plugins for music production or other projects.

  • Cross-Platform Potential: Designed with Unreal Engine 5’s multiplatform capabilities in mind.

What This Means for Developers

  • Expand your sound palette with community-driven CLAP plugins.

  • Design adaptive, interactive instruments inside Unreal.

  • Leverage MetaSounds not just for in-game playback, but also as plugin authoring tools.

This project is about making Unreal Engine a first-class citizen in the world of audio plugin development and usage. Whether you’re building a game soundtrack system, prototyping sound design ideas, or creating new instruments, CLAP support brings flexibility and power to your workflow.