Hire the Top 3% of Freelance Video Game Testers

Demand for Video Game Testers Continues to Expand

With an estimated 3 billion gamers, the revenue in the global games market is forecasted to surpass $300 billion USD in 2028. The increasing demand makes developing a fun, engaging video game more important than ever before and video game testers have risen to the challenge to fill the growing need for quality assurance (QA), with testers making up 9% of survey respondents in Game Developer Conference’s 2024 State of the Game Industry report.

Major acquisitions, like Microsoft picking up Activision Blizzard, and new technologies, such as cloud gaming and virtual reality, have also inflated consumer expectations in recent years. Nowadays a $60 USD game must be up to AAA standards and provide gamers with hundreds of hours of engaging gameplay, visuals, and social opportunities.

Possessing massive teams and budgets, AAA studios test the limits of graphics and performance year over year while indie developers, often with 100 or fewer employees, turn passion projects into creative, unconventional products that challenge the very definition of what a game can be. All these teams, big or small, employ video game testers to enforce their high quality standards. This guide will navigate you through the process of hiring a top-notch video game tester, including recommendations on how to identify the traits of talented testers, craft the perfect job description, and ask insightful technical questions to candidates interviewing for your position.

The Role of Testers in the Video Game Development Process

As a title moves through each stage of development, from initial idea to the final product, testers are instrumental in ensuring the quality of each build of the game, and that it is ready to be seen by stakeholders—such as publishers and investors—journalists, playtesters, and fans. In a typical game development cycle, games go through the following stages:

1. Concept
2. Preproduction
3. Production
4. QA/Polish
5. Launch
6. Ongoing operations

In each stage, the deliverables increase in quality and quantity. For instance, in the QA stage, the developer takes the alpha build and transforms it into the final, polished product that players will experience. Game designers, programmers, and QA engineers work together to iron out all bugs and issues in this last stage prior to launch. In the book Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games, Steve Ackrich, the head of production at Activision, estimates that 70% of the quality of a game comes during this last 10% of development. It is in this stage that the developer will finally see the game for what it is, and be able to ensure it offers the best possible experience for the player. This is where video game testing teams come in and do their best work. Skilled candidates in the areas of quality assurance and game development will leverage their combined years of experience in hardware configurations, knowledge of compliance requirements, and proficiency with testing tools, to name a few in-demand skills.

The difference between a game rushed off to market and one that has made time for polish can be enormous—and in an industry where game releases are pegged to a particular pop culture or consumer moment, having that built-in time is imperative. It is the subtle tweaking of controls and tuning of gameplay that creates an unforgettable player experience—and this level of quality leads to breakout hits.

There are other important types of testing that supplement the QA team, including:

• Internal design review, where designers play the game and talk through its features.
• Playtesting, a continually iterative process of inviting external players to play the game and offer feedback, which helps the designer gain insight into how players experience the game and keeps the game development tightly coupled with the game design, without straying off course during the long process of development. Playtesting methods and playtesters are chosen very carefully to provide constructive feedback to the developer. User experience research teams often are in charge of designing playtests that will be able to offer relevant data to the development team. Some of the most popular approaches include one-on-one interviews, roundtable discussions, questionnaires, and observational analyses.
• Focus group testing, where representative sample groups are recruited to play and discuss the game; this enables the marketing team to predict who will buy the game and how many units can be sold.
• Usability testing, when developers systematically analyze how users interact with software by recording their mouse movements, eye movements, navigation patterns, and other interactions, which helps interface designers see if people can efficiently operate the game.

With the rise of live, service-based games, the role of a tester is constantly evolving to also include other niche forms of testing, such as focus group, closed beta, and release testing. When the role of QA is integrated within development teams, testers may engage in black-box, gray-box, or white-box testing, which further differentiates their focus areas. Hiring candidates for these testing purposes may require screening for additional experience in game design, system architecture, and/or test automation.

On a basic level, a small group of video game testers with various strengths can cover a wide range of testing. However, the size and composition of your testing team will depend on the project’s stage of development. Below are the stages the testing team will work on, and the specialists most in demand for each of them:

Preproduction

One full-time team member, who will later become the lead, is enough. They will be fully immersed in development from the beginning, debugging mechanics, visuals, and other important game components, sometimes before the prototype is playable. They may need to proofread design documents or specs, study levels and maps, and test basic mechanics. At this stage, it is important to catch any flaws in the game that the team may have overlooked, so a skilled tester who is familiar with testing methodologies and understands your desired core gameplay is a must. Keep this in mind as you evaluate candidates for this position. Additional volunteers and confidants can be brought in to test game concepts when the game is in the prototyping or design phase.

Production

In this main stage of development, the lead testing role should be clearly defined, with the lead beginning to distribute and monitor the timely completion of tasks. You will now need to add a few new video game testers who will be completely immersed in development and in constant communication with the entire QA team. Some of the most challenging aspects to test include synchronous PvP in multiplayer games, cross-platform play, and server load. Top candidates for the team should be good collaborators and great communicators but do not necessarily need to match your lead tester in experience. An alpha test group, composed of friends and family, will supplement the QA testing with gameplay testing.

QA/Polish

A dedicated QA team of at least four full-time testers must review all changes in the project, testing new features and functionality as well as third-party components, such as advertising, analytics, and customer support. It is important to meet all critical platform requirements so that the game is released on time. All tests, functionality, and content must be documented for future regression testing. Your testing team and any candidates you hire should be able to efficiently implement and iterate on a testing plan as well as manage testing of all of the release requirements. Now, a beta test group of early access players from the community is necessary for ironing out all the kinks and allowing the developer to see where the game requires balancing.

Launch

The dedicated QA team needs to assist around-the-clock with launch day hotfixes and patches.

Post-release Ongoing Operations

The QA team size can be reduced depending on the game’s success and its post-release plans. Typically, QA testers will continue to test game updates, downloadable content (DLC), and ports to other platforms that the game did not ship with at launch time, so an additional one or two testers may be allocated to test new content. Testers will also continue automating tests as the player community changes in size post-release, including if the publisher or developers host community events, so an automation specialist may be useful for continuously writing new tests to cover regressions and ensure future operational excellence.

What Attributes Distinguish Quality Video Game Testers From Others?

Quality assurance testers are probably the pinnacle of video game players, in terms of skill. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who plays games more often. Many testers are students, programmers, or game artists aspiring for development roles beyond testing; however, senior and lead testers with years of experience are some of the most valuable people on a development team.

Video game testers look for inconsistencies, glitches, and bugs in the game experience and are responsible for documenting, reproducing, and reviewing these bugs until the game is ready to ship. Knowledge of compliance requirements, common or esoteric, is also a must as the deadline for publisher submission draws nearer.

A quality assurance team will typically include the advanced positions of QA lead and QA manager as well as several QA engineers. The responsibilities of a QA team include:

• Create a test plan for the project based on the design and technical specifications.
• Execute the test plan.
• Record all unexpected or undesirable behavior.
• Categorize, prioritize, and report all issues found during testing.
• Retest and resolve issues after they have been fixed.

Quality assurance is a rigorous process that demands a high level of attention to detail, focus, and patience. Testers must walk through lists of comprehensive instructions and expected outcomes, often returning to the same bugs and attempting to reproduce them on newer builds, from pre-alpha vertical slices to GA production-ready releases, and document all problems they encounter at every stage.

An educational background in game development, computer science, software development, software engineering, software testing (e.g. ISTQB certification), or a related field will provide a solid foundation for video game testing. Prior experience in video game testing or quality assurance as well as experience with various gaming platforms and genres can also be beneficial.

These important core skills will make an expert video game tester stand out from other candidates:

• A firm understanding of software testing methodologies, test planning, execution, and reporting.
• Familiarity with game testing software and bug tracking tools, such as Jira, Bugzilla, Mantis, BugNET, or TestRail, and performance testing tools, such as JMeter and LoadRunner.
• Proficiency in using automation testing tools and scripts (e.g. Selenium, Unity Test Framework) to streamline repetitive testing tasks.
• Proficiency with different hardware configurations for various gaming platforms like PC, consoles (e.g. Xbox, PlayStation), and mobile devices, to be able to identify hardware-specific issues, as well as platform-specific testing tools, such as console dev kits, Xcode for iOS, and Android Studio.
• A basic understanding of game development processes, terminology, and game design principles.

Highly skilled professionals will have experience in one or a variety of testing functions, including the following:

Functionality Testing

These teams are tasked with finding the majority of defects in a game and typically are the earliest to provide feedback on game builds.

Performance Testing

An understanding of load testing principles is a must to assess game performance under various conditions and ensure the optimal player experience. The video game tester should be able to simulate high-stress situations to test game stability and robustness.

Localization Testing

Localization testing requires checking text and audio in various languages on all components of the game—including but not limited to marketing materials, tutorials, UI, art, dialogue, and narration—to ensure that the game will be well-received in all shipped regions and markets. Some of this testing involves translating and implementing changes.

Compatibility Testing

These testers check that the game runs as expected and at high quality on various platforms, including Xbox, Playstation, PC, Nintendo Switch, and smartphones—to name some of the most popular game consoles of today. They will also test backward compatibility with older console models to make sure the game plays well even for players who haven’t shelled out the extra buck for a state-of-the-art machine. In addition, testers verify the functionality of input hardware, including keyboard and mouse, controllers, and touchscreen controls.

Regression Testing

Developers must ensure that new updates or features do not adversely affect existing game functionalities. Therefore, video game testers must be able to plan and execute regression tests, often using automated testing tools to run the same in-game functionality tests daily or weekly.

Compliance/Certification Testing

Every platform provider for games, including Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Steam, and Facebook, has rules for compliance to ensure that the software is up to their expected standard.

TRC (Technical Requirements Checklist) is a term used within most development studios to refer to the list of tests that a title must pass before a platform license holder will allow the game to be released on that platform. Passing TRC is a vital requirement toward the end of a game’s development cycle: The completed game goes through a submission process with each console manufacturer.

TRCs are not focused on in-game bugs but rather they are concerned with how game software works within the constraints of a particular platform. Examples include:

• How a game reacts when a controller loses power.
• How the console’s name is presented on-screen.
• How an app addresses privacy issues.

Platform holders impose strict TRCs to protect their company legally and promote their brand by upholding a standard of quality games.

To provide an idea of the range and level of detail that must be covered in TRCs, here are a few examples from Newcastle University’s Technical Requirements Checklist Workshop:

Example 1: System setting for language

• If the title implements a method to obtain the language setting from the System Software and uses that language in game. If the System Software language setting is set to a language unsupported by the title, the title selects a language that it supports. Obtain the language used in the System Software with the cellSysutilGetSystemParamInt() function and carry out the appropriate operation as follows:
  • If a language unsupported by the title is set, have the user select one of the languages supported by the title, or set one of the languages as the default language.
  • If a language supported by the title is set, it is recommended for the title to use the same language also, unless there is a special reason to do otherwise.

This is fairly straightforward and can be handled at the end of development by ensuring that the necessary functionality and menu screens are included.

Example 2: Non-widescreen render resolutions

• The title supports render resolution 480 (4:3) if it targets NTSC region, and render resolution 576 (4:3) if it targets PAL regions.
  • Wide-screen (squeezed) televisions 480 (16:9) and 576 (16:0) can also be supported.
  • Both NTSC and PAL can be supported. However, consoles other than those targeting PAL regions do not support PAL output.

This should be considered from the outset of the project, as it influences development of the rendering technology, the frustum culling, and the amount of environment to be modeled and rendered at a time.

Example 3: Disk read speeds

• The title does not implement synchronization processes that assume certain read speeds from the Blu-ray disc or HDD. Take into account that the read speed may change depending upon the condition of the disk drive and media. When streaming movies, always synchronize the video and audio using a time code, for example, instead of relying on the timing the data is read.

If not taken into consideration from the start of development, the fix for this requirement can be risky and time-consuming. This is especially important for open-world games, which tend to access the storage medium constantly.

These rules are ever-changing as platform brands shift and new consoles come on the market. To memorize all TRCs would be impossible, but an expert in video game testing will have experience in compliance testing and be familiar with the intricacies of passing requirements across platforms.

Ensure that the candidate is aware of TRCs related to their areas of expertise; for instance, online or HUD coders have a significant amount of TRCs within their purview.

Soak Testing

This involves leaving the game running for prolonged periods of time in various states of operation, such as paused, idle, or on the title screen. This testing usually requires no user interaction beyond initial setup and can be managed by the lead tester. Automated tools can simulate mouse clicks or other repetitive actions. Soaking can detect memory leaks or rounding errors that manifest or accumulate only over time.

Regression Testing

Once a bug has been fixed by the programmers, regression testing is performed in order to ensure that the fix did not break other expected functionalities.

Load Testing

This measures the capability of the video game to function correctly under load. It involves testing the limits of a system, such as the number of players on a Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) server, the number of sprites active on a screen, or number of threads running on a system at once. The software and tester must be able to emulate heavy activity during load testing.

How Can You Identify the Ideal Video Game Tester for You?

When looking for qualities that separate average from the best talent, assess these complementary skills:

• Passion for Gaming: A genuine enthusiasm for video games and deep understanding of various genres will enhance a tester’s ability to provide valuable insights.
• Attention to Detail: The ability to meticulously test every aspect of the game by identifying, isolating, and reporting bugs effectively.
• Critical Thinking: This enables video game testers to think analytically and creatively when encountering complex problems during testing.
• Troubleshooting Skills: Being able to detect technical issues and provide detailed reports on identified bugs.
• Clear Communication: The ability to articulate issues and feedback clearly and concisely to game developers and stakeholders.
• Collaboration: Willingness to work with developers, designers, and other team members to ensure smooth bug tracking and resolution.
• Time Management: Being able to efficiently prioritize tasks to meet project deadlines.
• Adaptability: The ability to quickly adapt to changes in project requirements or testing scenarios.

You can conduct a thorough assessment of the candidate’s hard and soft skills by taking the following steps:

• Portfolio Review: Request samples of the candidate’s previous work, such as bug reports, testing plans, or any relevant projects they have worked on.
• References: Contact previous employers or clients for references to verify the candidate’s skills and work ethic.
• Test Assignment: Consider giving candidates a small practical assignment to evaluate their testing approach and problem-solving abilities.

Positions on a QA team include QA lead, QA manager, and junior- to senior-level QA engineers. As testers progress from entry-level to senior positions, they are expected to demonstrate increased expertise, leadership capabilities, and a deeper understanding of testing processes as they fit into an iterative game design and development process.

From the outset, determine the experience level of the video game testers you are seeking.

Junior-level Video Game Tester: At the junior level, prior professional experience in the field of quality assurance or game testing may not be required, however, a basic knowledge of gaming, familiarity with various gaming platforms, attention to detail, good communication skills, and the ability to follow testing procedures are helpful. Candidates should be able to follow test cases and guidelines provided by senior or lead testers, communicate findings effectively through bug reports and feedback, collaborate with team members to ensure thorough testing, and participate in testing different game elements to ensure functionality and quality across the board.

Mid-level Video Game Tester: A mid-level tester has two to four years of experience in quality assurance, game testing, or a related field. They will typically have proficiency in using testing tools, deep understanding of game development processes, critical thinking skills, and the ability to work independently. Qualified candidates can design and execute test plans for specific features or systems, identify and prioritize critical bugs while working closely with developers for effective bug resolution, mentor juniors and provide guidance on testing best practices, conduct regression testing and verify bug fixes to ensure game stability, and collaborate with stakeholders to improve testing processes and game quality.

Senior-level Video Game Tester: Senior-level testers have more than five years of experience in quality assurance, game testing, or a related field, with a proven track record of successful testing projects. They generally have expertise in testing methodologies, leadership skills, advanced problem-solving abilities, and experience with test automation tools. An experienced candidate will be able to lead and manage testing efforts for complex projects with cross-functional team coordination, develop and implement testing strategies (including automation where applicable), analyze testing results to provide insights for optimal improvements, train and mentor juniors to foster their skill development and teach best practices, and collaborate with stakeholders to define testing standards to ensure a high level of game quality.

How to Write a Video Game Tester Job Description for Your Project

Video game testing is typically valued as an entry-level skill, and QA positions are often viewed as a stepping stone into the video games industry. Many game professionals start their careers as QA engineers before moving to other tracks, such as game producer, programmer, or designer.

However QA positions require high skill and technical competence and pose a variety of interdisciplinary challenges that will initiate any tester into the intricate workings of a game. QA staff are also often the most passionate game players and consumers you’ll come across, enduring repetitive shifts and few advancement opportunities in the grimmest of cases.

Quality assurance is critical in ensuring the success of a video game during development and after it ships, yet roles like QA Engineer, Quality Assurance Tester, and Video Game Tester can be undervalued and underpaid at video game studios and publishers. To differentiate your job posting, we recommend offering higher than average pay to attract and retain the highest quality talent in the industry. In 2013, $54,833 USD was the average salary for US-based QA professionals in gaming. Ten years later, QA salaries have not significantly changed, at an estimated average of $56,580 USD salary in 2024.

Other attractive benefits on your job post can include opportunities to gain insight into the game development process and learn skills in production, gameplay engineering, level design, game engine programming, and data analysis. You may also emphasize any special perks your company can offer a video game tester, such as a playable library of IP, franchise titles, indie titles, or early releases, as well as any game discounts, gaming events, and exciting projects slated for future development.

In your job listing, be sure to describe your project, specify technologies that your team will use or require knowledge of, focus on must-have skills versus nice-to-have skills, and specify if you’re looking for on-site, hybrid, or remote professionals.

What Are the Most Important Video Game Tester Interview Questions?

Walk us through your approach to testing a new game: How do you plan your testing activities and execute cases?

A desirable response from a mid- or senior-level candidate will demonstrate a strong foundation of testing principles, provide insight into their testing strategies and philosophies, and showcase their rigor. Entry-level candidates may find this question more challenging but should still be able to theorize their approach and show off their organizational skills. Candidates might answer this question by presenting a detailed plan, starting with understanding the game and its key features, then designing a testing plan and test cases that cover all aspects of the game. The process should involve close collaboration with the development team in order to clarify ambiguities and understand their objectives.

How do you prioritize bugs and issues you discover during testing?

This question provides insight into the candidate’s experience with various issues that crop up through rigorous testing. Different bugs will have differing levels of importance, and the candidate’s answer will gauge their understanding of the development process and their awareness of the player’s experience. Bugs that have a major impact on gameplay, including crashes or severe graphical glitches, require immediate attention. Bugs that are encountered frequently are also often prioritized. Issues that are less severe, such as small visual imperfections or rare edge cases, are tracked for future fixes. When answering this question, candidates should list examples of bugs that they consider to be high and low priority.

Describe a challenging bug you encountered in a game. How did you identify and resolve it?

The candidate should be able to speak about a relevant experience and walk the interviewer through their problem-solving efforts. The candidate might talk about using a systematic approach to try and reproduce the issue, as well as analyzing logs to identify any patterns that occurred at the time. A response demonstrating high skill will include details such as the tool and applications they used and/or specific game terminology, as well as collaboration with the development team to identify the root cause.

How do you provide feedback on gameplay mechanics or design decisions that impact the overall game quality?

This question assesses the candidate’s skill in teamwork and collaboration, as well as their understanding of how gameplay mechanics and design can improve the player’s experience. Candidates should be able to discuss how they identify issues, giving details on how those issues specifically impact playability. Candidates should also include which attachments they provide on bug reports, such as screenshots, recordings, or other metrics that concretely demonstrate the issue.

How do you stay updated with industry trends and advancements in game testing methodologies to enhance your testing capabilities?

This is an opportunity for the candidate to demonstrate their disposition toward continuous learning and improvement, a desirable skill for a QA engineer at any level. Because gaming technology evolves at such a fast pace, candidates must dedicate time to keeping up with the latest tools, techniques, and best practices in video game testing. Candidates might talk about engaging with the gaming community via social media groups or forums such as Stack Exchange, or reading industry publications like Game Developer. Candidates may also have attended industry conferences and taken courses on platforms such as Udemy, Coursera, and LinkedIn Learning.

If a critical bug is discovered just before the game launch, how would you handle the situation to ensure the game is released on time without compromising quality?

This question will allow you to evaluate the candidate’s experience with game releases, including all that traditionally comes with crunchtime—patches, hotfixes, and major versus minor updates. In their answer, candidates should focus on clear communication with all stakeholders, providing detailed documentation that includes steps to reproduce the bug, screenshots and videos, error logs, and any other relevant information. Candidates should also discuss testing strategies for after the fix is implemented, including focused testing on affected areas and regression testing, keeping close collaboration with the developers every step of the way. This is also a good time to ask scenario-based questions if there are particular scenarios that your project or company frequently encounters during testing.

Why Do Companies Hire Video Game Testers?

Companies hire video game testers to ensure the quality and functionality of their games before release. Through rigorous testing, QA testers help developers pinpoint and resolve technical issues, inconsistencies, bugs, glitches, and gameplay problems, ultimately contributing to the creation of polished and enjoyable gaming experiences that meet players’ expectations and industry standards.

Outsourcing Talent

Many game studios and publishers hire contractual or freelance video game testers. This gives them the flexibility to scale their testing teams based on project requirements. Some studios prefer to have in-house testers who work directly for the company. In these cases, in-house testers may be more involved in the development process and have a deeper understanding of the project.

AAA studios often have larger budgets, allowing them to hire dedicated in-house testers and quality assurance teams, while also engaging freelance testers for specialized testing requirements. Due to the complexity and scope of AAA games, these studios emphasize rigorous testing processes and may conduct extensive testing phases. Indie studios often prioritize core gameplay testing, bug fixing, and balancing, so they tend to rely on community feedback and early access testing to improve game quality. They may leverage their player community for testing through beta programs or early access launches. Occasionally, studios may enlist volunteers for playtesting during alpha or beta phases to gather feedback from a diverse player base before release.

As more and more games are developed, publishers and developers alike will find it difficult to test all the titles in development. While quality assurance is absolutely necessary, it is also an overhead cost that smaller developers often choose to outsource. Outsourcing allows the publisher or developer to carry less head count (and consequently less overhead cost). The seasonal nature of testing (i.e. the down time between projects) means that turnover becomes another challenge to manage. However, outsourcing can sometimes cost a developer or publisher more money than bringing the resource in house. Additionally, outsourced testers may not be familiar with console or publisher standards, which can tend to take more time. Having an internal QA department allows a seasoned staff to do the core testing.

Hiring Considerations for Developers vs. Publishers

Both developers and publishers may hire video game testers. Studios usually focus on getting the game ready to ship by testing and fixing game-related and compliance bugs.

Publishers, on the other hand, may have separate QA teams that work across multiple projects from different developers; their goal is to determine whether or not to accept the build as a deliverable. This acceptance will generally trigger a payment to the developer, so it is important that the build passes the publisher’s strict technical requirements.

Larger publishers increasingly assign a “closing team” with at least one TRC expert to the project toward the end of development, but it’s important to have testers throughout to keep the project on schedule and ensure quality control at all stages of development.

Console license holders employ a three-strikes-and-you’re-out policy, so if a game fails three minor TRC requirements, all testing by the platform provider will cease until they are fixed, causing delays and further unpredictability in the game’s future submission. During beta stages of the project, programmers will mainly focus on bugs, so addressing TRC issues early will free up the programming team to be able to concentrate on game balance and bug fixes.

Usability specialists on the publishers team are almost always third-party companies hired for a specific series of tests at a point fairly late in the development. They evaluate a user’s abilities to perform important tasks in the game and understand key concepts. They generally focus on testing the interface and controls, rather than the core gameplay, which distinguishes it from playtesting.