Quality assurance is the most common way into game development and a skilled career in its own right. Here is what testers really do, how QA teams are organised in the UK, where the job can lead, and how to write the bug reports and applications that get you hired.
What QA testers actually do
The popular image of a tester is someone paid to play games all day. The reality is closer to methodical investigation. A tester might spend a full shift walking into the same wall at different angles to find where the collision breaks, or loading and quitting a save fifty times to catch a corruption that happens one time in twenty. The job rewards patience, curiosity and clear writing far more than gaming skill.
QA work falls into several distinct types, and larger teams often specialise.
Functional testing
The core of the job. Functional testers check that features work as designed: menus open, weapons fire, quests complete, achievements unlock. Work is usually driven by test plans and test cases (a list of steps with an expected result) alongside freer exploratory testing, where you try to break the game in ways nobody wrote down. Regression testing, rechecking old bugs and features after every new build, takes up a large share of the time.
Compliance and certification
Before a game ships on a console, the platform holder checks it against its technical requirements: Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo each publish their own. These cover things like how the game handles a controller disconnecting, a full hard drive, a user signing out mid-session, trophy and achievement behaviour, and the exact terminology used for platform features. Compliance testers know these requirements in detail and check builds before they are submitted, because a failed submission costs time and money. It is a specialism that is valued and transferable between studios.
Localisation testing
Localisation QA (often shortened to LQA) checks translated versions of a game. Testers are usually native speakers who look for mistranslations, text that overflows its box, untranslated strings, incorrect formatting of dates and currencies, and cultural issues. Fluency in a second language plus testing skill is a strong combination for this route.
Performance and technical testing
These testers measure frame rate, loading times, memory use and stability, often on minimum-spec hardware or across a matrix of PC configurations. The work involves profiling tools, careful logging and comparing results between builds. It suits people with a technical bent.
Automation QA
Automation engineers write scripts and tools that test the game without a human at the controller: bots that run through levels, scripts that check every menu screen, or tests that run against each new build overnight. This requires programming skill (often Python or C#, sometimes C++) and leads naturally towards software development in test roles.
Player support and live QA
For live-service and online games, QA continues after launch. Teams verify patches, investigate issues reported by players and work closely with player support staff. Player support itself is a separate but adjacent role, handling tickets and gathering the information developers need to reproduce problems in the wild.
Outsourced versus in-house QA
UK QA jobs broadly sit in two kinds of company, and the experience differs.
| Outsourced QA provider | In-house studio QA | |
|---|---|---|
| Who you test for | Many clients, often several projects a year | The studio's own games |
| Variety | High: genres, platforms and test types change often | Lower, but you see one game develop over time |
| Contact with developers | Usually through a client lead or bug database | Direct, often sitting with the dev team |
| Contracts | More often fixed-term or project-based | More often permanent, though project contracts exist |
| Internal moves | Into senior QA, compliance, LQA or account roles | Into QA leadership or other dev disciplines |
The UK has a significant outsourced QA and localisation sector, with large operations in places such as the North East. Many publishers also run dedicated in-house QA centres; Rockstar Lincoln, for example, handles QA for Rockstar's titles. Both routes are valid. Outsourced QA gives breadth and plenty of compliance experience; in-house QA gives you a closer view of how a game is built and more contact with the people who might later hire you into another team.
Where QA can lead
QA is a career with its own ladder, not just a waiting room. Common progressions include:
- Senior tester and QA lead. Leads plan testing for a feature or project, assign work, triage incoming bugs and represent QA in production meetings.
- QA analyst. A more analytical role focused on test strategy, risk assessment, metrics and process improvement. Titles vary between studios.
- Compliance specialist. Deep platform requirements knowledge, often owning submissions.
- SDET or automation engineer. Software development engineer in test: builds testing frameworks and tools. A strong route for testers who learn to code.
- QA manager. Responsible for teams, budgets, hiring and the QA function across projects.
Sideways moves are also common. Testers who understand how levels flow and where players get confused move into level or systems design. Those who become the person everyone asks "when will this be fixed?" often move into production. People who start scripting test tools sometimes become tools or gameplay programmers. These moves are not automatic: you still need to build the relevant skills and portfolio alongside your QA work. Our guides to design careers and programming careers cover what those teams expect.
How to write a good bug report
Bug reports are the product of a QA team. A developer should be able to read yours, reproduce the problem first time and understand how serious it is, without asking you a single question. That is the standard.
The parts of a bug report
- Title. One line saying what happens, where and when. Avoid vague words like "broken" or "weird".
- Build and platform. The exact build number and hardware. A bug in an old build may already be fixed.
- Severity or priority. Studios use their own scales; a crash or progression blocker ranks above a cosmetic issue.
- Reproduction rate. How many times it happened out of how many attempts.
- Steps to reproduce. Numbered, minimal, starting from a known state.
- Expected and actual result. What should happen, and what does.
- Notes and attachments. Video, screenshots, logs, crash dumps, and anything you ruled out.
An example
Title: [PS5] Crash to home screen when opening Map during autosave (Chapter 3, Docks) Build: 0.9.412 (RC2) Platform: PS5 devkit Severity: A - Crash Repro: 5/5 Steps to reproduce: 1. Load the save "Ch3_Docks_Start". 2. Walk through the warehouse door to trigger the autosave. 3. While the autosave icon is visible (top right), press the touchpad to open the Map. Expected result: Map opens, or the input is ignored until the save completes. Actual result: Game freezes for roughly 2 seconds, then crashes to the home screen. The save file loads correctly afterwards. Notes: - Does not occur if the Map is opened after the autosave icon disappears. - Also reproduces on Xbox Series X, same build (5/5). - Opening the Inventory during autosave does not crash. Attachments: crash_ch3_map.mp4, crash dump
Notice what the notes do. They narrow the cause (the Map, during an autosave, on both platforms) and save the programmer time. Isolating a bug like this is where good testers stand out.
Common mistakes
- Combining two bugs into one report. One issue per report, always.
- Writing steps that rely on context only you have ("do the thing from earlier").
- Emotional language ("this is terrible"). Keep it factual.
- Skipping the search for duplicates before filing.
- Leaving out the build number.
What to put on a QA application
Entry-level QA roles rarely require industry experience, which means the people screening applications look for other evidence that you will be careful, reliable and good at communicating.
Your CV
- Attention to detail, shown not claimed. A CV with typos for a QA role is an instant rejection at many studios. Proofread it twice.
- Relevant experience from outside games. Retail, warehouse, call centre, data entry or any job involving procedures, checklists, accuracy or shift work is worth describing in terms of those skills.
- Platforms and genres you know well. Breadth helps. Mention if you are comfortable on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and mobile.
- Languages. Essential for localisation roles and a plus elsewhere.
- Technical skills. Familiarity with bug databases such as Jira, any scripting, spreadsheet skills, building PCs.
- Testing you have done. Public betas, early access feedback or playtesting for friends' jam games all count if you can describe what you reported.
Your cover letter
Keep it short. Say which role you are applying for, why QA (not just "why games"), and give one specific example of noticing and clearly reporting a problem. If you want to move into another discipline later, it is fine to say so honestly, but make clear you intend to be a good tester first. Our guide to games CVs and cover letters covers structure in more detail.
The QA test
Many studios set a short test: watching a video or playing a build and writing up the bugs you find, or answering questions about test approaches. Treat it like real work. Use the format above, file each issue separately, and note the steps exactly. A small number of perfectly written reports beats a long list of vague ones.
Before you accept
Ask about contract length, typical hours and how overtime is handled, whether shifts include nights or weekends, and whether testers have moved into other teams. These are normal questions and good employers answer them openly.
Next steps
- Browse live QA and testing jobs at UK studios.
- Look for entry-level openings across all disciplines on the graduate and junior page.
- See which studios are hiring now, or browse the full studio directory.
- Read how to get into the UK games industry for the wider picture.
- Prepare for the conversation itself with our guide to studio interviews.
- Search every live vacancy on the job board.