What to Look for in a Gaming Partner in 2024

Game testing is an essential process that defines how players will play and enjoy the game. This, in return, determines the game’s performance in the market. However, testing your game can be challenging due to the many testing processes involved. As a result, companies often outsource gaming services to an external partner to help them with the testing process. During gaming partner selection, companies often face many challenges in finding the right game service provider. 

This trend isn’t likely to change as we look into 2024. In fact, with more gaming partners emerging, it will only get more difficult to find and choose the right gaming partner. Fortunately, companies no longer have to struggle with ineffective and inefficient partners after going through this guide. Here, we explore some fundamental factors to help you choose a reliable and efficient gaming partner in 2024.  

Why is Selecting a Gaming Partner So Important in 2024? 

Choosing a gaming quality assurance (QA) partner is essential. This is because the cost and time of rectifying an error increase with each game development stage. So, what takes an hour or two at the prototyping phase may take days or weeks if done after release. Therefore, as we approach 2024, managing errors and bugs will become even more crucial, especially in today’s increasingly competitive gaming environment. And that’s where a gaming partner comes in.  

Gaming partners specialize in investigating the game to identify, prioritize, remove, and prevent bugs from accumulating at every stage, which may become a snowball of fear, pain, and losses. Partnering with the right gaming partner can help you test your game thoroughly, ensuring it’s free from errors or performance glitches. This way, it can deliver an exceptional gaming experience, improving its performance and acceptance. 

5 Factors to Consider When Looking for a Gaming Partner in 2024 

As we approach 2024, here are a few things to look out for when selecting a gaming partner to help you find the right gaming service provider: 

1. Reputation 

While reputation is not everything, it indicates the quality of gaming services offered by the partner in question. Therefore, it can be a good indicator of whether a gaming partner is worth your money. But how do you learn more about a gaming partner’s reputation, considering that many providers label themselves “leaders” in the market? Here are some aspects to look out for to truly assess the gaming partner’s reputation: 

• Google reviews. Look up the company on Google and check its overall ratings and reviews on Google.  
• Social media pages. Many gaming partners have social media pages. You can watch out for comments on these social media pages. If several customers express a dissatisfactory experience, that should be a red flag.  
• Recent news. Check out recent news about the company, including achievements, changes in facilities or leadership, etc. This provides a better idea about the company’s service quality.  

2. Industry Expertise 

The last thing you need in 2024 is partnering with a gaming service provider who doesn’t know or understand your gaming needs. This will take a lot of time and result in significant losses due to delays in the release of the game. Therefore, it’s essential to partner with a gaming service provider who understands the industry’s ins and outs. This way, you can rest assured they will take care of your gaming needs to the letter.  

Do a company background check to determine their domain expertise. Choosing an experienced gaming partner like IXie ensures faster service delivery. Whether it’s testing or post-launch suggestions, a domain expert can help improve your game, including its process design and flow. This results in a better game that delivers a seamless gaming experience to the players.  

3. Assess the Individual’s Skillsets 

As much as you’ll partner with a gaming company as a whole, it’s individuals who will work on your project. Therefore, it would be best to assess their qualifications and achievements. This will help you determine whether they meet your gaming requirements or not.  

For instance, if you’re looking at addressing game quality assurance, a qualified tester would be a wise choice. Their qualifications and experience will enable them to approach your gaming needs from a unique angle that your in-house team may not. Therefore, assessing the individual’s skills will help you pick a gaming partner who aligns with your gaming needs. This way, you can rest assured that your needs are well taken care of, achieving timely and reliable game release.  

4. The Existence of Basic Game Testing Categories 

Game testing is a sophisticated process. It involves many testing dimensions, including compatibility, localization, performance, functionality, and compliance testing, to mention a few. All these testing dimensions are crucial in gaming. In fact, if one or several game testing aspects are not accounted for, your game may face significant challenges in the market, from poor gaming experitestences to legal penalties related to non-compliance. 

Therefore, when choosing a gaming partner, it’s essential to ensure they offer multiple services, such as game testing for compliance, functionality, and performance, among others. This way, you won’t have to wander around looking for other partners for additional services, which may be inconvenient, time-consuming, and risky, as you’ll expose your game to several gaming partners. 

5. Integration with Your Team 

When you choose a gaming partner, you sign up for a collaboration between your team and that of your partner. Therefore, the partner should be familiar with existing quality assurance practices and tools or your preferred testing platforms. This way, it will be easier to integrate with your team.  

While it’s no guarantee that your gaming partner will be conversant with every platform, project management system, and development tool, understanding what they know is important. It paints a picture of what to expect once you partner with them. This facilitates seamless integration with your internal team.  

Final Thoughts 

Finding the right gaming partner can be a challenge in 2024, especially with hundreds of vendors out of their bidding to win your contract. Therefore, you must be judicious and select a gaming partner that will help you achieve a quality game rather than pass or fail bugs list and reports. Also, it’s essential to view your gaming partner as an extension of your own organization to develop a fulfilling and strong partnership for both parties. From assessing the gaming partner’s reputation to determining their domain expertise, scrutinize the gaming services company to ensure it aligns with your goals and expectations.  

Ready to test your game with a new gaming partner? iXie has got you covered. iXie brings 15+ years of expertise to meet all your gaming needs. With this and other benefits, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about partnering with iXie in 2024. 

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