Quality Assurance
Ongoing coverage on Quality Assurance.
Latest coverage
Side expands presence in China, opens new studio and acquires art outsourcing provider Roboto Entertainment
Side has expanded its operations in China by opening a new studio in Chengdu and acquiring art outsourcing provider Roboto Entertainment. Andrea Cordella, founder of Roboto Entertainment, has been appointed as Side's global head of art and studio head for the new Chengdu office. This move aims to leverage China's significant presence in the AAA and AA game art outsourcing market.
Unionized Activision QA workers authorize a strike after two years of stalled negotiations
Unionized Activision QA workers have authorized a strike after two years of stalled negotiations with the company. The union, representing 600 workers, is seeking wage increases, AI guardrails, and improved working conditions. Both sides accuse the other of bad-faith bargaining.
Capcom aims to enhance its propriety RE Engine with AI to accelerate efficiency in QA, debugging, and data processing
Capcom is enhancing its proprietary RE Engine with AI to improve efficiency in areas like QA, debugging, and data processing. The company aims to evolve the engine into an "AI-generation game engine" and will open-source some improvements to support AI training. This initiative follows Capcom's earlier statement that it would not implement generative AI assets directly into games but would use AI to boost development productivity.
"We view AI as a sliding scale. There will always be a human in the loop; that's our ethos": Why Side has signed an MOU with Modl.ai to use AI for QA
Services provider Side has signed a memorandum of understanding with Danish AI firm Modl.ai to develop an AI-enabled quality assurance system. This new system aims to reduce friction by not requiring access to source code, instead playing the game like a consumer and identifying bugs. Both companies emphasize that human experts will remain integral to the process, with AI augmenting rather than replacing QA testers and potentially creating new career paths.
Testronic expands senior leadership, Mike Guttman appointed vice president of senior partnerships
Testronic has expanded its senior leadership team with several key appointments across its global offices. Mike Guttman has been appointed vice president of senior partnerships, with Nicole Closson joining as business development manager. Mateusz Kałuża is the new QA director in Warsaw, and Lily Guerreiro is the global partnerships senior manager. The company also made senior QA appointments in Manila, including Daniel Bowie Soriano and Ivan Balanay. These moves are part of Testronic's investment in talent to enhance its services for partners.
Testronic appoints Sonia Kerr as CEO, Sharon Baylay-Bell becomes company chair
Testronic has appointed Sonia Kerr as its new CEO, succeeding Sharon Baylay-Bell, who will now serve as company chair. Kerr, formerly CFO at XR Games, brings experience in leading high-growth digital businesses. The company also announced Mike Fitzgerald as Chief Revenue Officer and Samantha Williams as Chief Commercial Officer, reinforcing its commitment to its 'Player-Focused, Partner-First' strategy.
Kudos Games Services expands leadership team with Testronic and Team17 execs
Kudos Games Services has appointed Michael Hanna as Chief Operating Officer and Anna Hurley as Non-Executive Director to its senior leadership team. Hanna, formerly of Testronic, will focus on operational excellence and international growth, while Hurley, previously with Team17, will lead commercial strategy. The article also notes Devolver Digital's intention to go private later this year due to market volatility and a desire to focus on long-term company health.
QA's real job is being the voice of the player
Mateusz Kałuża, QA Director at Testronic, argues that Quality Assurance is a strategic advantage, not just a safety net, in modern game development. He emphasizes that skilled testers act as the voice of the player, providing crucial insights early in the development process to ensure a high-quality player experience and protect business outcomes.
Morning Interviews
SCS Software published a blog post detailing their in-game map Quality Assurance process. The article provides an 'under the hood' look at how the development team ensures the accuracy and functionality of the game's map.
Professional Game Testing Services: What They Cover and How to Choose the Right QA Partner - Walkthrough, Tips, Review
Professional game testing services are crucial for reducing launch risks by identifying edge cases, crashes, and bugs before release. A comprehensive QA process goes beyond bug lists, delivering test strategies, actionable reports, regression cycles, and release readiness notes. Choosing the right QA partner involves assessing their process, platform/genre fit, team stability, device coverage, and communication.
Capcom Executive Says “Even Top-Tier AI Cannot Match Our Creators” When it Comes to Creating Art
Capcom's vice president of game development platform and AI solutions, Shinichi Inoue, stated that the company is not using generative AI for art assets, believing human sensibility is superior to current AI capabilities. While AI tools are being employed for routine tasks like quality assurance testing with Google's Gemini and an in-house tool, Capcom has no plans to implement AI-generated assets into its games. The company is actively testing AI for efficiency improvements across graphics, sound, and programming.
PlayStation’s First-Party Studios Are Using Generative AI for QA, 3D Modeling, Animations
Sony is integrating generative AI tools into PlayStation Studios' development pipelines for tasks like QA, 3D modeling, and animation, using tools like Mockingbird for facial animations. While Sony emphasizes AI as an amplifier for human creativity, other studios like Mundfish, IO Interactive, and Take-Two Interactive have expressed caution or confirmed no AI use in their current projects, particularly for art assets in games like Grand Theft Auto 6.
EA CEO says 85% of the Battlefield 6 and The Sims publisher's QA work uses AI, but it's not taking jobs, it's making them: "We hire more QA people than we ever have"
Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson stated that approximately 85% of the company's quality assurance work now utilizes AI and machine learning algorithms. He clarified that this technology is primarily augmenting human roles rather than replacing them, leading to an increase in QA personnel. Wilson emphasized AI's central role in EA's business strategy.
AI Won't Allow 16-Year-Old In A Garage To Make Battlefield 7 Or GTA 7, EA CEO Says
Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson believes that while AI will automate simple quality assurance tasks, it will not enable small, independent developers to create AAA titles like Battlefield or Grand Theft Auto anytime soon. He also stated that AI advancements will lead to short-term job losses but long-term net gains in employment within the industry.
Tropic QA Enters Next Stage of Growth as Female-Led Gaming QA Company Rebrands
Tropic QA, formerly Test Tropic, has officially rebranded as it enters a new phase of growth. Founded by Viktorya Hollings and Rebecca Gilray, the female-led company aims to solidify its position as a leading gaming quality assurance provider based in Barbados. The rebrand signifies the company's evolution and future direction while maintaining its commitment to high-quality service and client trust.
Tools to tell if your game is broken
Matthew Tighe of Gameworks discusses how his company's platform uses AI and machine learning to help developers identify and fix bugs and performance issues throughout the game development process. Similarly, Ken Noland of AI Guys explains how their tool PerfCop analyzes performance data for Unreal Engine games to accelerate debugging and decision-making. Both emphasize that these AI tools are designed to assist developers, not replace them, by handling tedious tasks and improving overall game quality and development efficiency.
Roblox releases agentic AI tools for creators, promising ability to "build a game with a single prompt"
Roblox has launched new agentic AI tools within Roblox Studio, designed to assist game creators. These tools can reportedly generate a game design document from a single text prompt, create the game based on that document, and then perform automated quality assurance testing.
Developer Credits Community for Bug Hunt Success in Latest Game Update
A recent game update highlights the positive impact of community involvement in bug hunting, with developers publicly thanking players and streamers for their contributions. This collaborative approach, where players help identify and report issues, leads to faster fixes and a stronger relationship between developers and their audience. While the trend is beneficial, the article emphasizes the importance of developers respecting player time and contributions to avoid turning players into unpaid QA testers.
Playruo raises €2.1 million to become the leading platform for testing and sharing video games via streaming
Playruo, a cloud gaming solution for video game studios and publishers, has secured €2.1 million in funding led by Kameha Ventures and Blast Club. This investment will accelerate the commercialization of its services, which include instant game playtests, QA, press previews, and playable demos accessible via streaming. The company also announced a strategic partnership with PulluP Entertainment to streamline testing phases for titles published by Focus Entertainment and Dotemu.
Gamers Are Fed Up With Broken Patches — Here’s What They Want Fixed
Players are expressing frustration with the current state of game patches, where updates often introduce more problems than they solve. There's a growing demand for greater accountability from developers and platform holders like Steam to implement mandatory testing and clear rollback procedures before patches are released to the public.
