8Bit/Digi

Quality Assurance (QA) has been a very important and very difficult but also underappreciated part of the game development process. GameDriver wants to change that by introducing the same automation and standards used by the tech industry.

GameDriver was showcasing its system of QA automation to the industry during the Game Developers Conference 2022. I got the chance to speak to Robert Gutierrez (co-founder and CEO) along with Shane Evans (co-founder and CPO) to better learn about their system and how it will help QA testers.

Learning About GameDriver

The idea for GameDriver came from Evans passion for making games along with his and Gutierrez’s background in enterprise software at HP. Realizing the same QA standards and automation that are used in the tech industry are absent among video game testers, they have set out to bring this concept to the games industry.

Speaking with Gutierrez, their goal is to bring this concept to the overall industry. The idea is that by automating the QA process, bugs and glitches can be better detected while also avoiding the problems that QA teams currently face. At the moment, the software is compatible with games being built with the Unity engine. This is only limited to the PC, iOs, and Android.

Evans then demonstrated a demo of the software playing a game multiple times over while collecting data on the playthrough. Thus giving developers an idea of how they could better automate the QA process.

The end goal is to make GameDriver compatible with all major game engines while also being compatible will a build for all consoles. They want to get to a point where the QA team could run a test of the same game for the PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch over 100 times all at once. At the same time, it should be able to identify the bugs in each different version of that game.

After GDC

Following their showcase at GDC, GameDriver has announced that they are offering free software licenses to educators and start-ups (via Ambassador program). Dubbed the Tester Edition, it’s compatible with the Unity engine for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android devices.

This special report is part of 8Bit/Digi‘s coverage of the Game Developers Conference 2022. If you attended the event, please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Disclaimer: GDC provided me with press credentials for the week.

8Bit/Digi is an independent media outlet that provides an insight into the video game community and industry of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Note: Just to avoid any confusion or misunderstanding, QA tester are also game developers.