git:20260728.1bce424 to git:20260813.4a11cd6

+ description: "Reference catalog of game-QA test categories and the four platform-holder certification regimes a multi-platform title submits to before release. Defines the six canonical test categories (functional / compliance / compatibility / performance / localization / accessibility) plus the multiplayer and content-rating cross-axes; documents the submission workflow, severity vocabulary, test-bench configurations, and known SLAs for Microsoft Xbox Requirements (XR), Sony TRC (gated PlayStation DevNet), Nintendo Lotcheck (gated Nintendo Developer Portal), and Steam Direct review; and includes the building-a-cert-checklist workflow that maps a target platform's requirement items to the six categories. Cites public sources inline; cites gated NDA portals by stable ID per PLUGIN_AUTHORING.md Step 4 fallback. Use when planning a game test pass or cert calendar, mapping internal QA findings to the platform's vocabulary, sequencing submissions across platforms, or emitting a pre-submission checklist."

+ The six canonical test categories (functional / compliance / compatibility /

+ performance / localization / accessibility) that map across all four regimes

+ are defined in "The six test categories" below.

+ - Planning a game test pass - which of the six categories apply,

+ who owns each, and how a bug maps to a category.

+ - Emitting a per-platform pre-submission checklist (see "Building a

+ cert checklist" below).

+ ## The six test categories

+

+ A game build is tested against six canonical categories the industry has

+ converged on over three console generations (sources: Microsoft's

+ [Certification step-by-step guide](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/gaming/game-publishing/concepts/certification/certification-guide),

+ [Xbox Accessibility Guidelines (XAG) v3.2](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/gaming/accessibility/guidelines),

+ Steam's [App Review Process](https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/review_process),

+ and Schultz & Bryant, *Game Testing All-In-One*, 3rd ed., ISBN 9781305077133):

+

+ | # | Category | Scope | Typical owner |

+ |---|---|---|---|

+ | 1 | **Functional** | Mechanics, scripting, AI, UI flow, save/load, economy/progression match the design spec. | Engine-specific automation + manual QA |

+ | 2 | **Compliance** | Build conforms to platform holder's Requirements / TRC / Lotcheck document. | Cert / submission QA |

+ | 3 | **Compatibility** | Runs across all required SKUs, OS versions, hardware generations, and display/audio/storage configurations. | Lab / device-cloud QA |

+ | 4 | **Performance** | Hits declared frame-time, load-time, memory, thermal, and battery budgets on each target SKU. | Performance engineers + profilers |

+ | 5 | **Localization** | Translated strings fit their UI, render in their script, and behave under RTL + CJK + length expansion; VO coverage correct. | LQA agencies + automation |

+ | 6 | **Accessibility** | Meets platform-required or -recommended accessibility guidelines (Microsoft XAG, AbleGamers, CVAA/EAA where applicable). | Accessibility QA + design |

+

+ Category notes:

+

+ - **Functional.** Microsoft's [Build Verification Testing (BVT)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/gaming/game-publishing/concepts/certification/certification-guide)

+ stage is largely functional: "BVTs is a reduced test pass designed to make

+ sure a product is fully testable and configured properly before entering

+ full certification testing" - functional bugs that break BVT block the

+ entire cert pass. Tooling: the engine skills (`unity-test-framework`,

+ `unreal-automation-system`, `godot-gut-tests`) plus recorded-input replay

+ (`gameplay-recording-replay`).

+ - **Compliance.** The per-platform requirement documents and the CFR / SRI /

+ ION severity codes are in

+ [references/platform-cert-details.md](references/platform-cert-details.md).

+ A **CFR** (Condition for Resubmission) fails cert and must be fixed before

+ resubmit.

+ - **Compatibility.** The Xbox 5-console bench layout that exemplifies the

+ required matrix - plus the Sony / Nintendo / PC equivalents - is in

+ [references/platform-cert-details.md](references/platform-cert-details.md).

+ - **Performance.** Frame-time targets (16.67 ms / 60 Hz, 33.33 ms / 30 Hz)

+ under representative load; long-session memory stability ("soak" test).

+ Microsoft requires a minimum sustained framerate per

+ [XR testing](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/gaming/game-publishing/concepts/certification/certification-guide);

+ Sony TRC performance gates and Nintendo thermal + battery rules are NDA

+ (cite by stable ID).

+ - **Localization.** The cert bench varies **Console Language** across consoles

+ to exercise localized assets. Runtime risks screenshot review misses:

+ German string overflow (~30% longer than English on average), CJK subpixel

+ rendering, Arabic/Hebrew bidirectional layout, missing VO takes, lip-sync

+ drift.

+ - **Accessibility.** Microsoft XAG v3.2 entries each specify Goal / Scoping

+ questions / Implementation guidelines; the

+ [Microsoft Gaming Accessibility Testing Service (MGATS)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/gaming/accessibility/mgats)

+ tests against the XAG. Regulatory overlays: US CVAA (in-game

+ communications), EU EAA from June 2025.

+

+ ### Triage workflow

+

+ Given a bug report: identify the symptom → map to a category (cheatsheet

+ below) → assign the owner from the table → set severity in the platform

+ holder's vocabulary (CFR / SRI / ION for Xbox; comparable NDA tiers for Sony /

+ Nintendo - triage CFRs first) → record the XR / TRC / Lotcheck ID in the bug

+ tracker so cert QA can verify the fix → confirm the category and requirement

+ ID still resolve in the current requirements list before closing (a stale XR

+ number is the common triage error).

+

+ | Symptom | Category | Severity hint |

+ |---|---|---|

+ | Crash on save load | Functional | High - cert-blocker |

+ | XR-024 fail (unhandled controller disconnect) | Compliance | CFR - cert-blocker |

+ | Black screen on PS4 base, fine on PS5 | Compatibility | High - gens-affecting |

+ | 22 fps in raid encounter (target 30) | Performance | Triage vs. budget |

+ | German "Zurück" overflows button | Localization | Sev 3 - UI |

+ | Subtitles missing in cutscene 7 | Accessibility | XAG fail |

+ | Host migration drops players | Multiplayer (functional + compliance) | High |

+

+ ### Cross-axes: multiplayer and content rating

+

+ **Multiplayer is not a seventh category** - it cuts across functional +

+ compliance + compatibility + performance: state-machine correctness under

+ packet loss / latency / disconnect (see `multiplayer-state-machine-coverage`),

+ matchmaking + session lifecycle, anti-cheat compatibility with platform

+ integrity systems. Per Microsoft's

+ [certification-guide](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/gaming/game-publishing/concepts/certification/certification-guide),

+ "Multiplayer does not work as expected" is one of the most common reasons a

+ title is placed on **Hold** during an Xbox cert pass.

+

+ **Content rating** (ESRB / PEGI / CERO / USK / IARC) is a regulatory

+ classification, not a testing category - but Steam requires the

+ [Content Survey](https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/gettingstarted/contentsurvey)

+ before review, platform holders gate distribution on the local rating board's

+ certificate, and localization may interact with rating (removing gambling

+ minigames for the Belgian release).

+

+ ## Building a cert checklist

+

+ To turn a target platform into a ready-to-run pre-submission checklist,

+ follow this workflow (inputs: target platform - `xbox` / `playstation` /

+ `nintendo` / `steam` / `all`; optional milestone context, title-features

+ list, target hardware SKUs):

+

+ 1. **Identify the gating document** from the regimes table above: Xbox XR

+ v16.1 (public), Sony TRC (gated - stable ID "Sony TRC"), Nintendo Lotcheck

+ (gated - stable ID "Nintendo Lotcheck"), Steam App Review Process

+ (public). For `all`, emit one section per platform in that order.

+ 2. **Filter by title features.** Mark items Not Applicable when a requirement

+ only applies to a feature the title does not use (e.g., XR-064 Joinable

+ via shell is N/A for a single-player-only title). Keep the row and mark it

+ N/A with the reason - never silently omit, so reviewers can confirm the

+ exclusion is intentional.

+ 3. **Emit one checklist section per platform.** Header row: requirements-doc

+ name + version, source URL or stable-ID cite, gated vs public, submission

+ SLA from the comparison table above. Then a table with columns

+ `# | Requirement | Description | Test Category | Pass Signal | N/A?` -

+ the Test Category comes from the six-category taxonomy above; the Pass

+ Signal names the observable outcome that counts as a pass. Public

+ platforms get requirement IDs + inline URLs; gated platforms get bucket

+ names + the stable-ID cite - never reproduce NDA clause text verbatim.

+ 4. **Append sequencing advice** from "Sequencing across platforms" above,

+ plus the platform's common cert blockers (e.g., Xbox's most common hold

+ reasons - missing partner accounts, sandbox partner-service gaps,

+ multiplayer failures - per the

+ [certification guide](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/gaming/game-publishing/concepts/certification/certification-guide)).

+

+ Refuse to emit a checklist item whose claim has no available source - surface

+ the gap instead of inventing text. Engine test scenario files are a different

+ job: the `game-test-scenario-author` agent authors those.

+

+ | Treating "QA" as one undifferentiated bucket | Loses ownership; compliance gaps surface at cert | Use the six categories explicitly in test plans + bug-tracker fields |

+ | Compatibility on the dev kit only | Retail SKUs (Series S, PS4 base, Switch handheld) behave differently | Lab test on retail hardware per the bench layout in [references/platform-cert-details.md](references/platform-cert-details.md) |

+ | Performance averaged over the level | Spikes cause CFRs; averages hide them | Frame-time histograms, p99, sustained-window measurements |

+ | Localization screenshot review | Misses runtime overflow, missing VO, lip-sync drift | Playthrough every locale; not a glanced screenshot |

+ | Accessibility as a launch checklist | Architectural changes (rebindable input) can't be retrofitted | XAG scoping questions at design milestone, not at submission |

+ | Multiplayer tested only in low-latency LAN | Drops, NAT, host migration fail in the wild | Inject loss / jitter; see `multiplayer-state-machine-coverage` |