One key reason for games’ technical failures over the last few years is often the lack of comprehensive Quality Assurance involvement throughout the game development process. In an effort to meet tight deadlines by publishers or reduce development costs, game studios often rush their projects through development without dedicating enough time to rigorous testing. This oversight results in unresolved bugs and performance issues, leading to problems such as frame rate drops, visual glitches, and unresponsive gameplay, which ultimately disrupt the player experience.

Effective game QA is a must-have for identifying and resolving issues before launch. With complex games requiring careful testing across various devices and platforms, integrating QA at every stage of development is a necessity rather than just a recommended good practice. 

At Pingle Studio, we understand the critical role QA plays in creating that bring not irritation, but joy. Our QA professionals can be involved in any stage of development, up until the release date and after it, ensuring that every game we test is as polished and playable as possible. This article will explore the importance of QA in game development and share best practices to avoid the pitfalls that lead to technical issues in modern games.

Game development QA 1-0-1

By definition, Quality Assurance (QA) in game development is the process of systematically testing a game to ensure it functions as intended across various platforms, devices, and configurations. But “on the field,” the work of QA engineers is not limited to identifying bugs but also involves optimizing performance, ensuring compatibility, and maintaining the overall quality of gameplay. From the earliest stages of development, where the game engines and core mechanics are built, to the final post-launch updates

In the context of game development, QA ensures that all technical elements, including game art, 3D modeling, level design, and the underlying programming languages, work harmoniously. QA teams are involved throughout every phase of development. During the early stages, they assist in identifying issues in prototypes, helping developers fine-tune mechanics, and ensuring that core features function smoothly. As development progresses, QA checks that game engines are optimized, that assets like game art are properly integrated, and that gameplay runs smoothly across various devices. Post-launch, QA is still vital, as patches, updates, and expansions need to be tested to prevent introducing new issues.

QA vs. Development

While game development focuses on creating the game, QA ensures that what has been created works as expected. QA, on the other hand, tests all the game’s components to ensure they’re fully functional and free of issues. For example, a developer may create a new game feature using a game engine, and the QA team’s job is to ensure that this feature works correctly in various scenarios, from gameplay mechanics to hardware performance.

Types of Game Testing

There are several types of game testing, each serving a unique purpose to ensure the game’s quality:

• Functional Testing: The most fundamental form of testing, where the QA team verifies that all game features work as intended. This includes testing game mechanics, controls, in-game interactions, and overall usability.
• Compatibility Testing: QA ensures that the game runs smoothly across different devices, operating systems, and hardware configurations. In modern game development, ensuring compatibility across consoles, PCs, and mobile devices is crucial.
• Performance Testing: This type of testing focuses on game optimization, checking that the game performs well in terms of frame rates, loading times, and resource usage. Performance issues, such as frame rate drops and lag, can severely impact player experience.
• Security Testing: As multiplayer and online gaming grows, QA must also check for potential security vulnerabilities that could lead to cheating, data breaches, or other malicious activities.

Each type of testing plays a role in ensuring that the final product is not only functional but also polished, delivering a seamless and enjoyable experience to players.

The importance of game QA: then and now

The bigger the game, the bigger the chance of failure. Today’s games are built using intricate systems, ranging from advanced modeling and detailed game design to complex level design, all powered by sophisticated game engines. This complexity introduces numerous potential points of failure, where even a small oversight can lead to significant bugs or performance issues. Without thorough testing, these issues can severely compromise the user experience, highlighting the critical role QA plays in modern game development.

Complexity of Modern Games

Creating a modern game is a sophisticated process. Developers must integrate multiple elements—game art, 2D/3D modeling, animations, and physics—into game engines to form a cohesive experience. The complexity is amplified when designing open-world environments, multiplayer modes, or dynamic physics systems. QA ensures that each element works harmoniously, from the visual assets to the technical mechanics. For example, testing in-depth level design helps to verify that players can navigate smoothly and that no critical bugs or errors disrupt progression.

Preventing Game-Breaking Bugs

Game-breaking bugs can ruin the entire player experience, from corrupted save files to freezing or crashing during gameplay. By integrating QA early and consistently throughout the development process, many of these issues can be caught and resolved before launch. This includes optimizing game performance to prevent frame rate drops and lag, both of which are common pain points in games that have not been thoroughly tested. QA also plays a role in testing the stability of game engines and ensuring that new features introduced during development do not cause unforeseen problems.

Reducing Costs and Delays

One of the most overlooked benefits of comprehensive QA is the reduction of costs and delays in game publishing. When QA is properly implemented, it helps identify critical issues before a game is released, eliminating the need for expensive post-launch patches and updates. This not only saves time and money but also helps avoid negative reviews or loss of player trust. Investing in QA early ultimately results in a smoother development cycle, faster time to market, and a more polished final product—saving significant resources in the long run.

4 notable QA practices for game development in late 2024

Here are some of the best practices that Pingle Studio employs to ensure quality results in game testing.

Early and Continuous Testing

One of the most important practices in game development QA is starting testing early and continuing it throughout the entire development cycle. By involving QA from the prototype stage, potential issues in game mechanics, game engines, and even programming languages can be caught before they snowball into larger problems. Early testing allows developers to adjust game art, 3D models, and level design more efficiently, preventing costly changes down the road. Continuous testing, even post-launch, ensures that any updates or expansions don’t introduce new bugs or performance issues.

Cross-Platform Testing

With games being released on a variety of platforms—PC, consoles, mobile devices—ensuring compatibility across all of them is a major challenge. Cross-platform testing is essential for ensuring a seamless experience for players, regardless of their hardware. At Pingle Studio, we leverage the latest game engines and tools to simulate gameplay across multiple devices and operating systems. This process involves testing performance, controls, and interactions across different platforms, ensuring that the game is equally optimized for all users.

Automated vs. Manual Testing

Automated testing plays a vital role in game development, particularly for repetitive tasks like regression testing and load testing. Using scripting and programming languages like Python or C++, automated tests can efficiently check if new builds introduce errors. However, manual testing remains irreplaceable when it comes to evaluating user experience, visual consistency, and game art elements. Manual testers assess the game’s overall feel, ensuring that level design is intuitive and visually appealing while keeping gameplay engaging.

User-Centric Testing

Finally, focusing on the player’s experience is essential. QA teams at Pingle Studio prioritize user-centric testing, which means not only testing for bugs but also ensuring that the game’s art, level design, and mechanics deliver a satisfying experience. Visuals must align with gameplay mechanics, ensuring a smooth, intuitive user interface across different game stages. Aligning QA efforts with the end-user’s perspective helps ensure that the game feels polished and immersive from start to finish.

Developing the game QA toolset: 3 major milestones 

The toolset required to bring your game to life might vary from project to project, but here’s what we recommend paying special attention to, based on Pingle Studio’s expertise: 

Game Engines and Testing Tools

Two of the most widely used game engines, Unity and Unreal Engine, often provide pretty much all the features that facilitate efficient QA processes. These engines offer built-in testing environments that allow QA teams to simulate a variety of scenarios, from performance benchmarking to cross-platform testing. By using these tools, Pingle Studio can efficiently test gameplay, physics, and interactions across different devices and configurations, ensuring that games behave consistently and perform well. The versatility of Unity and Unreal Engine also enables in-depth testing of 3D modeling, game art, and level design, allowing QA teams to catch potential issues early in development.

Programming Languages for Automated Testing

Automated testing plays a critical role in speeding up the QA process, especially for repetitive tasks like regression testing and performance validation. At Pingle Studio, we utilize programming languages such as Python and C++ to create scripts that automate testing procedures. Python, with its powerful scripting capabilities, is ideal for writing automated tests that handle tasks like load testing or testing various game mechanics in a simulated environment. C++ is also frequently used for low-level testing of game engines, ensuring that new features or updates do not cause unforeseen issues. By combining automated testing with manual testing, we ensure thorough coverage without sacrificing efficiency.

Bug Tracking and Reporting

One of the most crucial aspects of QA is the ability to track and report bugs effectively. Pingle Studio uses advanced bug tracking tools like Jira and Trello, which allow for seamless communication between the QA and development teams. Best practices include documenting bugs with detailed descriptions, steps to reproduce, and severity levels. This process ensures that feedback loops between developers and QA teams are streamlined, making it easier to address and resolve issues quickly. Regular reporting and tracking allow the team to focus on the most critical bugs, ensuring that the game development process stays on track.

The role of game testing in optimizing games

Optimization might feel dull for the developers, but it serves a great eventual purpose: making the game enjoyable on the widest possible set of devices for as many gamers as we can. When it comes to game testing, we recommend keeping an eye on the following aspects of game optimization: 

Performance Optimization

One of the core objectives of QA is to ensure a game runs at optimal performance, which involves analyzing frame rates, reducing loading times, and minimizing resource usage. In games that feature complex 3D modeling or detailed level design, performance issues can arise if these elements are not properly optimized. QA teams rigorously test these areas by running the game on different hardware setups, identifying performance bottlenecks, and recommending adjustments to improve frame rates and responsiveness. Whether it’s refining textures in 3D models or optimizing assets in level design, QA ensures that the game remains smooth, even in resource-heavy scenes.

Network and Multiplayer Testing

In today’s gaming landscape, multiplayer modes and online features are critical to the success of many titles. QA plays a key role in network and multiplayer testing by ensuring that these features function seamlessly across different regions, devices, and internet speeds. Testing includes verifying server stability, checking for latency issues, and ensuring that multiplayer interactions such as matchmaking and in-game communication work without disruption. Network stability is crucial to maintaining a smooth user experience in competitive online games, and QA helps identify and resolve potential issues before launch.

Pingle Studio’s Approach to Optimization

Pingle Studio has a strong track record of improving game performance through comprehensive QA services. One notable case involved optimizing the performance of a large-scale multiplayer game, where the sheer number of players and assets led to significant frame rate drops. Through a combination of performance testing, resource allocation adjustments, and detailed optimization of level design elements, our team was able to improve the game’s overall performance by 30%, leading to a more seamless player experience.

Summing up: do not underestimate testing, and do not hesitate to ask for help 

Yes, there are plenty of examples of releasing the game in poor technical condition, surviving the wave of criticism, and fixing it with patches. But do we want it to become a new normal? 

If you’re a developer facing the complexities of game testing, don’t hesitate to reach out to Pingle Studio. Our experience in game development and testing makes us the perfect partner for delivering optimized and polished games. Whether it’s early-stage testing or last-minute performance checks, our team is here to help ensure your game is ready for a successful launch. Let us assist you in making your game the best it can be.