It is almost common knowledge that the gaming industry has seen unprecedented growth in recent years. But do you know last year 50% of the total revenue generated by the gaming market came from mobile games?
With millions of mobile games vying for players’ attention in App stores, game testing has to be a critical part of the development process to deliver a smooth, bug-free gaming experience.
Needless to say, thorough testing across devices and platforms requires time, expertise, and resources that most game studios don’t have in-house.
That’s why outsourcing testing to a professional QA service has become an essential strategy for today’s game developers. Third-party game testers bring specialized testing competencies, flexibility, cost savings, and unbiased perspectives that maximize game quality.
This guide will explore the top 10 benefits of partnering with professional mobile game testing services to complement your in-house capabilities. We’ll cover how outsourced testing services can:
- Leverage expertise in game QA methodologies
- Provide more comprehensive testing coverage
- Enable faster testing velocity to meet tight deadlines
- Supply dedicated testing engineers to scale up or down
- Deliver significant cost savings compared to staffing in-house resources
By understanding these advantages, development studios can optimize game testing while focusing internal efforts on core programming and design tasks.
What is Outsourced Game Testing?
Game testing, also known as game quality assurance (QA), is the process of systematically testing a video game to identify bugs, glitches, crashes, and other issues before launch. It involves extensively playing the game to validate functionality, gameplay, UI, graphics, audio, and overall quality.
Outsourced game testing leverages third-party QA services and test engineers instead of relying solely on in-house resources. Expert game testing companies are contracted to provide:
- Specialized testing skills, tools, and methodologies
- Device labs for cross-platform compatibility testing
- Large teams of experienced testers
- A fresh, objective perspective
Reputable game testing partners become an integrated extension of the client’s QA team. They collaborate closely with developers to deliver comprehensive testing coverage based on the studio’s specific quality criteria, schedules, and platforms.
Key testing deliverables include defect reports, test plans, test cases, and summary findings. Issues are logged and tracked through the entire dev cycle.
Why Outsource Mobile Game Testing?
Game studios choose to outsource testing for several key reasons:
Testing requires specific expertise and resources
Effective QA demands advanced technical knowledge of gaming platforms, devices, networks, engines, and tools. Developing these specialized testing skills in-house is difficult. External testing services already have this hard-won expertise.
Mobile game testing is particularly important due to the diversity of devices and operating systems that mobile games must run on. The different stages of testing, including alpha, beta, and post-launch testing, help refine the game for a seamless player experience.
Frees up internal developers to focus on core tasks
When developers spend too much time testing their own work, it detracts from programming efforts. Outsourcing testing liberates them to focus on what they do best – designing and developing games.
Provides an objective, unbiased perspective
In-house testers can be unintentionally biased. External testers assess the game impartially without preconceptions, catching issues developers may miss.
10 Key Benefits of Professional Mobile Game Testing Services
The rapid growth of mobile games has given rise to specialized mobile game testing services. These services cater exclusively to the unique challenges faced by mobile game developers, ensuring a comprehensive and efficient testing process.
Partnering with a seasoned Mobile Game testing company provides a wide range of advantages over purely in-house testing:
1. Expertise and Experience Testing Games
Specialist QA firms may have tested hundreds of titles across every platform and genre. This breadth of experience translates to a deeper knowledge of what can go wrong and how to test for issues.
Professional mobile game testing services employ skilled testers who are experts in finding potential issues that might be overlooked in-house.
These services often maintain a diverse pool of testers, representing various demographics, ensuring a broader perspective of the game’s appeal.
2. Advanced Testing Methodologies and Best Practices
Expert testers are trained in state-of-the-art QA processes, test planning, defect tracking, test automation, and tools. This professionalism results in more rigorous and watertight testing.
Third-party mobile game testers provide independent and unbiased feedback, avoiding any subjective bias that may occur with in-house testing.
3. Identify More Bugs and Issues Earlier
Studies show outsourced testing uncovers 30% more defects prior to release. The earlier bugs are found, the less costly they are to fix.
4. Compatibility Testing Across Devices, Platforms, and Regions
In-house studios can’t afford labs with every device. Outsourcers thoroughly test builds across all target platforms and hardware configurations.
Mobile game testing services have access to testers from different regions and time zones, ensuring comprehensive testing and localization for a global audience.
5. Optimized Testing Plans and Schedules
Experienced project managers create efficient test plans that maximize coverage given development timelines and constraints.
6. Dedicated QA Test Engineers
Having full-time, specialized testers focused solely on QA is more effective than developers trying to test their own work.
7. Scalability to Handle Projects of Any Size
Test team sizes can scale up and down to suit project needs. Studios avoid costs of dedicated in-house staff between game releases.
Professional mobile game testing services have the resources to scale their operations quickly, meeting tight deadlines during peak testing periods.
8. Reduced Costs vs. In-House Testing Team
Outsourcing game testing can significantly reduce costs compared to maintaining an in-house testing team, which requires constant training and infrastructure investment.
Even with outside testing fees, overall QA costs are lower compared to establishing permanent in-house testing roles.
Many Mobile game testing services offer flexible pricing models, allowing developers to choose packages that suit their specific needs and budget.
9. Faster Testing Turnaround Times
Larger, specialized teams accelerate testing velocities to meet tight deadlines without compromising coverage.
Faster turnaround times enable developers to identify and address issues promptly, leading to a reduced time-to-market.
10. Gain Confidence and Reduce Risks Before Launch
Comprehensive outsourced QA provides assurance of quality and greatly mitigates the risks of issues impacting reputation or revenue after launch.
Cultural sensitivity testing ensures that games are well-received across diverse markets.
How to Choose the Right Game Testing Company
Not all “game testing firms” are equal. Here are the key criteria for selecting the right QA partner:
Relevant industry experience
Look for an established company with years of testing experience specifically for mobile games, not just general software QA. Check their client list and game portfolio.
Technical capabilities and testing methods
Evaluate their technical breadth, testing process maturity, automation expertise, and how well they align with your team’s existing workflows.
Security protocols and confidentiality
Rigorous security standards are essential when testing unreleased games.
Developers should ensure that the selected mobile game testing service implements stringent security measures to protect sensitive information and offers legal agreements that safeguard intellectual property rights.
Communication and Collaboration
Testing takes intensive collaboration with developers. Seek responsive, transparent partners who integrate seamlessly.
Effective communication between the mobile game testing service and the development team is essential for a seamless testing process. Regular updates, clear feedback channels, and integration with the development workflow ensure a productive collaboration.
Quality of deliverables
Assess the comprehensiveness, detail, and actionability of their test plans, test cases, reports, and other deliverables.
Pricing and scalability
Balance cost, quality, and flexibility to scale testing teams up and down by project phase.
Choosing the right outsourcing partner provides the expertise, productivity, and confidence needed to release high-quality, bug-free games on the tightest timelines.
Key Takeaways
Outsourcing game testing to professional QA services offers major advantages compared to relying solely on internal quality assurance efforts:
- Expertise: External testers contribute knowledge from testing hundreds of game titles across every platform, genre, and engine.
- Cost Savings: Avoiding permanent in-house testing staff significantly reduces costs, especially between game releases.
- Speed: Larger, specialized vendor teams speed up testing velocity to meet aggressive deadlines without compromising coverage.
- Scale: Flexibly adjust testing team sizes up or down to suit each project phase.
- Objectivity: Third-party testers provide unbiased perspectives to identify issues developers could miss.
- Risk Reduction: Comprehensive outsourced QA delivers the confidence and assurance needed to mitigate bugs and quality problems before launch.
Considering these benefits, game studios partner with specialist QA companies to maximize quality while focusing in-house efforts on core programming and design.
The Bottom Line
Outsourcing game testing to professional mobile game testing services brings a host of benefits to game developers. The expertise, cost-effectiveness, and efficiency of these services enable developers to deliver high-quality games that resonate with players worldwide.
By selecting the right mobile game testing partner, game developers can gain a competitive edge in the fiercely competitive gaming market.
Also read: How to Become a Game Tester in 2023?
Disclaimer: This article was provided by a third party. No editor/writer of shadowknightgaming.com was involved in creating this content
