Quality Assurance (QA)

The QA team are the guardians of playability. They hunt down bugs, break things on purpose and ask the tough questions “What if the player does the worst possible thing at the worst possible time?”.

They aren’t just button mashers. Good QA testers think like the players and designers. They test systems thoroughly, report issues clearly and work with devs to fix problems without introducing more.

QA is the last line of defense, and the first to notice when something’s gone wrong.

 

🔍 What Does QA Do?

There are several roles within QA, each with different responsibilities:

  • QA Tester: Tests features, reports bugs and reproduces issues reliably.

  • QA Analyst. Designs test plans, edge case scenarios and risk assessments.

  • Embedded QA: Works closely with a department (design, programming etc.) to test new features before they go wider.

  • Automation QA: Builds test bots, scripts and systems to auto-check builds.

  • Localization QA: Checks translated text, regional versions and font rendering.

  • Certification QA: Preps for console submissions - platform rules are strict!

QA is both reactive (bug fixing) and proactive (preventing issues early).

🧠 What Skills Do You Need?

Hard Skills

  • Bug reporting tools - JIRA, Hansoft/Perforce, DevTrack

  • Testing techniques - Regression, smoke and exploratory

  • Build systems knowledge - Understand build pipelines and version control

  • Platform guidelines - Especially for consoles like Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo

  • Automation Tools - (Optional) Python, Selenium, Jenkins

Soft Skills

  • Attention to detail - Spotting the tiniest cracks in the glass

  • Communication - Clear, precise bug reports are gold

  • Critical thinking - How might this system break?

  • Persistence - You’ll test the same area again.. and again… and again

  • Empathy for players - Understand how someone might fail to understand a feature

🧰 Tools Of The Trade

Tool

Purpose

Jira/Hansoft/Perforce

Bug tracking and task management

DevTrack

Enterprise bug reporting tool

TestRail/Confluence

Building test plans and documentation

Unity Profiler/UE Logs

Technical testing and crash tracing

Console Dev Kits

Testing hardware-specific features and submissions

Excel/Sheets

Often used for ad hoc test matrices or bug sorting

Jenkins/Build Tools

Track, deploy and test builds

🧱 QA Role Breakdown

Here is a typical ladder of roles, though titles and responsibilities can shift by studio size.

QA Tester

  • Entry-level

  • Reports bugs

  • Follow test plans

QA Analyst

  • Design tests.

  • Digs into patterns

  • Verifies edge cases and systems under stress

Embedded QA

  • Becomes part of a specific team

  • Prevents issues early by testing on the spot

  • Assists team

Lead QA

  • Manages test cycles

  • Helps triage bugs

  • Trains and supports juniors

QA Manager/Director

  • Oversees the entire QA process

  • Strategic planning and management

  • Liaises with all departments to keep release cycles clean

 

💬 Tips From The Trenches

  • Don’t just test what it should do. Test what it shouldn’t do.

  • Write your reports like the dev reading them is on fire and panicking. Clarity is mercy.

  • Pair with designers and engineers. Understanding intent helps you test better.

  • Never assume it’s fixed until you see it live. Regression is real.

  • Be the most annoying person in the room - professionally. If something is broken, you will be heard.

👤 Want To Become A QA Tester?

Here’s how to start building your path:

  • Play critically. Take notes. Break things. Ask why something feels off.

  • Write mock up bug reports; use structure, tags and reproduction steps.

  • Volunteer for indie projects, they always need more QA eyes.

  • Join beta testing programs, get used to pre-release builds and feedback loops.

  • Learn test case structure and how to design testing workflows.

📚 Further Learning & Resources

📖 Books

  • “Game Testing: All In One” by Charles P. Schultz

    • Solid industry focused QA intro.

  • “Introduction to Game Testing” by Robert Bryant

    • Great for absolute beginners.

  • “How Games Are Made” by Russ Pitts

    • Includes QA stories from the trenches.

 

💻 Articles & Blogs

 

📺 Videos & Talks

 

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