Survey reveals poor QA in the gaming industry: 77% of developers don't test enough

Many of us have learned the hard way that jumping into a game right at launch isn't always the smartest move. Instead, it's often better to wait a week or two for the inevitable updates. Some horror stories worth remembering (or forgetting?) include Cyberpunk 2077, Fallout 76, and Assassin's Creed: Unity—three disastrous launches that make you wonder how seemingly obvious game-breaking bugs managed to slip past QA unnoticed.

A new study has revealed that the issue is actually bigger than many might think, showing that only 23% of game developers conduct sufficient QA. The study surveyed nearly 300 developers, and 70.4% admitted they had never released a game without significant bugs.

One major reason behind this is, of course, a lack of investment in QA or simply not having enough budget—especially as modern games continue to grow in complexity. In fact, 50% of respondents stated that their QA budgets do not meet the actual needs of their projects.

Many companies are now turning to AI-driven solutions to tackle this problem, and a staggering 94% of those surveyed believe that the future of QA will be AI-based. However, only a relatively small portion are currently willing or ready to integrate AI as part of their development process.

When was the last time you encountered a buggy game at launch? And what do you think should be done to fix this growing issue?