Why Are Games So Buggy These Days?
Let’s be clear, here at KudosQA we love bugs, which is our very raison d’être, but over recent years we’ve noticed a concerning trend – a decline in the overall quality of games upon release. Many avid gamers have experienced frustration and disappointment as they anticipate the launch of a new title, only to find themselves grappling with an array of bugs and glitches. In fact in a gov.uk poll published just last year over 70% of gamers polled stated that buggy releases hurt their gaming experience. A further 40% stated that poor gameplay mechanics and poor optimisation had a detrimental impact on their gaming.
These results raise a critical question: are game developers sacrificing quality assurance and testing in their rush to meet release deadlines?
The Need for Speed
We get it. In the fiercely competitive gaming market, developers face immense pressure to release their games quickly. The demand for fresh content and the desire to stay ahead of competitors often leads developers to set ambitious release dates. Unfortunately, this emphasis on speed can come at the cost of thorough quality assurance and testing processes. Just look at Cyberpunk 2077 which “ rapidly became a punch line — many punch lines — thanks to glitches that ranged from maddening to hilarious. In one scene, a motorcycle rider went from sitting on the bike to standing on the seat wearing no pants.”
To meet stringent deadlines, developers may cut corners in the testing phase, releasing games that are not adequately polished. This rush to launch often results in a myriad of issues, ranging from minor annoyances to game-breaking bugs that severely impact the player experience. The fallout from such releases can tarnish a developer's reputation and lead to a loss of player trust. It’s ironic given the fact that the same gov.uk poll only 13% of gamers stated that a delayed launch had a major negative impact on them.
The Pervasiveness of Day-One Patches
In an attempt to address some of the issues discovered post-launch, developers increasingly rely on day-one patches. “Another day, another?Cyberpunk 2077?update?to fix a critical issue” stated engagdet.com overall game stability this approach raises concerns about the extent of testing conducted before the games official release. Players are left wondering if these patches are a mere band-aid solution to problems that could have been avoided with more comprehensive testing. This wasn’t always the case when games were launched solely on hard disk (are we showing our age) but it’s become a common place now for buggy games to be launched and patches to be applied. Here at Kudos QA, we don’t think that’s good enough.
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Community Backlash
As gamers become more vocal about their dissatisfaction with buggy releases, the community backlash against developers and publishers has grown.
With Reddit threads and Discord communities established for gamers to vent their frustrations, this ultimately damages the reputation of the game and its creators. This negative publicity erodes the relationship between players and the gaming companies they once trusted.
The Cost of Quality Assurance
Developing a game with a high level of quality assurance requires time, resources, and a dedicated testing team. Unfortunately, financial constraints and tight schedules can lead to compromises in this crucial phase of development. Allocating more time and resources to quality assurance may result in delayed releases, but it could ultimately save developers from the backlash associated with launching a subpar experience.
The decline in game quality due to rushed releases and insufficient quality assurance should be a concern within the gaming community. While the pressure to meet market demands and outpace competitors is understandable, it should not come at the expense of the player experience. In Kudos QA’s opinion, striking a balance between timely releases and thorough testing is essential. Players deserve games that not only captivate them but also provide a seamless and enjoyable experience free from the frustration of pervasive bugs and glitches. Developers and publishers must prioritise game quality to maintain the trust of their dedicated fan base before it’s too late.
Junior Lead/CQA Tester at KudosQA
1 年There will always be some bugs that make it through QA undetected. But publishing a game where it's obvious that there are still numerous high impact and easily reproduced issues reflects poorly on all involved. While it might be possible to fix bugs after a game gets released now, the fact that in the past the published version of a game was the final version may have led to there being a greater focus on making the best it could be. Games get delayed, people are used to this. It's better to be upfront with users and say the product doesn't meet the desired standards and spend a bit more time working on it, than rush it out and end up needing to spend more time on it anyway AND have to deal with the negative fallout.
Senior Dev Quality Assurance at Behaviour Interactive
1 年As seasoned QA tester, every moving piece in a game is important.
Parish Councillor
1 年'Cos they shift them out too quick - follow the money, sod the end user!
Project Manager
1 年Very interesting post that covers many good points. Properly investing in QA is something many studios and publishers fail to do. But some decisions along the development process can make the QA needs larger than they should be. For instance, an overreliance on pre-made libraries and middleware often produces spaghetti code with unforeseen interactions not fully understood by the dev team. Seemingly random (or very low-repro) bugs emerge from those interactions, requiring large QA numbers to be spotted — and even larger numbers to be properly investigated. Sometimes, a simpler, less capable (but capable enough for the project’s needs) in-house solution is the better path. It looks longer at the onset, but saves time and headaches down the road.