Understanding QA: Roles and Practices in Game Development (Part 1)

As a newcomer to NetEase after one year, the author reflects on their limited experience with games and the new field of game testing, aiming to summarize and rethink their QA workflow and methods.

QA, short for Quality Assurance, is more than a post‑development bug‑catcher; it is a method to prevent errors and defects throughout the product lifecycle, acting as a quality inspector for the entire development process.

In game development, QA ensures that the product delivered to players meets quality standards, participating from early concept to final release, and bridging the gap between development and player experience.

The article distinguishes two key concepts: "delivery testing" (acceptance) where QA verifies that a feature is ready for hand‑off, and "test delivery" (release) where QA’s results must meet launch criteria before the product goes live.

QA must collaborate closely with planners, who drive much of the game’s content, requiring clear communication and joint responsibility for progress and quality.

QA’s value is often invisible, perceived only when a released game has no critical bugs; however, proactive involvement—such as early detection of code issues or design gaps—enhances both product quality and personal motivation.

Before testing begins, QA should analyze requirements, meet with planners to clarify details, and design test cases (including "admission cases") that cover core functionality, aiming to catch 60% of major bugs with 20% of test points.

Estimating testing effort and moving tests earlier (test‑pre‑move) helps schedule work, split large systems into manageable parts, and reduce later‑stage testing pressure.

The article concludes with a preview of the next part, which will delve deeper into specific QA tasks.