What should I focus on when testing an update?

The changed areas first, since that's where regressions are introduced, plus a fixed checklist of critical paths (launch, save/load, purchase, core loop) that must never break regardless of what you touched. Targeting risk this way catches most regressions for far less effort than testing the whole game. A history of past issues tells you which areas have been fragile and deserve extra attention.

Can I catch every bug before shipping an update?

No, the field has device, OS, and condition combinations you can't replicate in testing, so some regressions will always slip through. That's why good update testing pairs focused pre-release checks (changed areas and critical paths) with per-version monitoring: the tests catch what they can, and monitoring catches the rest within minutes of shipping, so a missed regression is caught fast rather than discovered days later in reviews.

How Do I Test an Update Before Shipping It?

Q: How do I test an update before shipping it?

Test smart rather than exhaustively: focus on the areas you changed (where new bugs live), always cover the critical paths (launch, save/load, purchase, core loop) with a standing checklist, and include anything that's regressed before. Then back this focused testing with per-version crash monitoring, so whatever your tests miss is caught fast after shipping. Targeting risk catches most regressions without testing everything.

Quick answer: Test smart, not exhaustively: cover the areas you changed (where new bugs live), the critical paths (launch, save/load), and anything that's regressed before.

You can't fully test every update, but you can test the right things. The goal is to catch the regressions an update is most likely to introduce without grinding your release pace to nothing. Here's a practical approach to testing an update before you ship it.

Test the Areas You Changed First

The highest-risk part of any update is what you changed, that's where new bugs live. Testing the code you touched and anything that depends on it catches most regressions for a fraction of the effort of testing the whole game. Start your testing where the risk actually is.

Bugnet's per-version issue history shows what broke in past updates to similar areas, helping you target your testing. Focusing on the changed surface is the highest-leverage update testing you can do, it concentrates effort where regressions are introduced.

Always Cover the Critical Paths

Some paths are so important that breaking them is catastrophic regardless of what you changed, launch, save/load, purchase, core gameplay loop. A short standing checklist of these critical paths, run every update, ensures a regression in them never ships unnoticed.

Bugnet tells you if any critical path has crashed in the field before, so you know which deserve the most careful checks. A fixed critical-path checklist is cheap insurance against the worst regressions, the ones that would ruin the experience for everyone.

Back Testing With Per-Version Monitoring

No pre-release testing catches everything, the field has device and condition combinations you can't replicate. So back your focused testing with monitoring: track crash rate per version from the moment the update ships, so a regression your tests missed surfaces in minutes rather than days.

Bugnet monitors each release's crash rate by version, so whatever slips through your tests is caught fast. Testing an update before shipping is covering the changed areas and critical paths, then pairing that focused testing with per-version monitoring, which together give coverage no test plan alone could.

Test smart, not exhaustively, cover the changed areas, critical paths, and past regressions, then back it with per-version monitoring so whatever testing misses is caught fast after shipping.