Release Certification

A clean GMC is sent to the platform manufacturer for final certification once the project team has finished Gold testing. The platform manufacturer (for example, Nintendo, SCEA, or Microsoft) then conducts its own intensive testing on the GMC. Their testing consists of two phases, which can happen concurrently or consecutively. The standards phase tests the code against the Technical Requirements Checklist. The functionality phase tests the code for functionality and stability. The release testers always play the game through at least once per submission. They often find showstopper bugs of their own.

At the end of certification testing, the platform manufacturer's QA team will issue a report of all the bugs they found in the GMC. Representatives of the publisher will discuss this bug list with the account representatives at the platform manager, and will mutually agree upon which bugs on the list must be fixed.

The development team is well advised to fix only those bugs on the "must fix" list, and to avoid fixing each and every minor bug on the list in an effort to please the platform manufacturer. Fixing more bugs than is absolutely necessary to win final certification only puts the code at risk for more defects.

Once the game has been re-submitted and certified by the platform manufacturer, it is "Gold." The champagne should flow. But the project is not over yet.