Where should I publish my known issues list?

Publish it in multiple places: a pinned post on your Steam community hub, a pinned message in your Discord support channel, and a dedicated page on your website. Link to the same canonical source so you only maintain one list. Update it within 24 hours of discovering a new issue or resolving an existing one.

How much detail should I include for each known issue?

Include a brief description of the issue, the conditions that trigger it, any workarounds available, and the current status (investigating, fix in progress, fixed in next patch). Players don't need technical details like stack traces, but they do need enough information to recognize whether the issue affects them.

Should I list minor issues or only major ones?

Focus on issues that players are likely to encounter and report. Including every minor visual glitch clutters the list and makes it harder to find relevant information. A good rule of thumb: if the issue has been reported by three or more players, it belongs on the known issues list.

How to Document Known Issues for Your Players

Quick answer: Maintain a single known issues page organized by severity, with clear statuses (investigating, workaround available, fix in progress, fixed in next patch). Publish it on your website and link to it from Steam, Discord, and patch notes. Update within 24 hours of confirming new issues or shipping fixes.

Every game ships with bugs. Players understand this — what frustrates them isn’t the bugs themselves but the feeling that the developer doesn’t know about them or doesn’t care. A well-maintained known issues list is one of the simplest ways to build trust with your community, especially during early access when bugs are frequent and expectations are high.

Structuring Your Known Issues List

A good known issues page is scannable. Players arriving with a specific problem want to quickly determine whether the developer is aware of it and whether there’s a workaround. Organize issues by severity and give each one a clear status label.

Here’s a format that works well:

## Critical Issues

**[INVESTIGATING] Game crashes when entering the Frozen Caverns on AMD GPUs**
Affects: Players with AMD Radeon RX 6000/7000 series on driver version 24.x
Workaround: Update to AMD driver version 25.1 or later
Reported: Apr 2, 2026

**[FIX IN PROGRESS] Save file corruption after Alt-Tabbing during autosave**
Affects: Windows players
Workaround: Avoid Alt-Tabbing while the save icon is visible
Expected fix: Patch 1.2.4 (this week)

## Major Issues

**[WORKAROUND AVAILABLE] Controller rumble stuck on after boss encounters**
Affects: All platforms with haptic feedback
Workaround: Pause and unpause to reset rumble
Reported: Mar 28, 2026

## Recently Fixed (Patch 1.2.3 - Apr 1, 2026)

**[FIXED] Audio crackling during cutscenes on Linux**
**[FIXED] Inventory items disappearing when stack exceeds 99**

The status labels are the most important element. “Investigating” tells players you know about it but haven’t found the cause yet. “Fix in progress” tells them it’s actively being worked on. “Workaround available” gives them something to do right now. These labels transform a frustrating experience (“is anyone even working on this?”) into a reassuring one (“they know, and help is coming”).

Where to Publish and How to Cross-Link

Maintain one canonical version of the known issues list. This should live on your website or documentation site where you have full control over formatting and updates. Then link to it from everywhere players might look for help:

Steam community hub: Pin a discussion post titled “Known Issues & Workarounds” that links to your canonical list. Update the post when the list changes.
Discord: Create a #known-issues channel (read-only for non-staff) and pin a message linking to the canonical list. When new issues are added, post a brief update in #announcements.
Patch notes: At the bottom of every patch note, link to the known issues page. This reminds players that the list exists and shows that you maintain it actively.
In-game: If your game has a news feed or message-of-the-day system, link to the list there too. Players who don’t visit forums or Discord will still see it.

Resist the urge to maintain separate copies for each platform. Separate lists inevitably fall out of sync, and you’ll have outdated information somewhere that frustrates the players who find it. One list, many links.

When and How to Update

Update the known issues list within 24 hours of two events: confirming a new issue and shipping a fix. Speed matters here. If a player reports a crash on Monday and you confirm it Tuesday but don’t update the list until Friday, every player who hits the same crash between Tuesday and Friday thinks you don’t know about it. They’ll file duplicate reports, post angry messages in your Discord, and leave negative reviews.

When you fix an issue, don’t just delete it from the list. Move it to a “Recently Fixed” section with the patch version. This serves two purposes: players who return after a break can see what’s been resolved, and it demonstrates that reporting issues leads to fixes. That feedback loop encourages more (and better) bug reports from your community.

Keep the “Recently Fixed” section trimmed to the last two or three patches. Older fixes can be archived in your changelog. The known issues page should be focused and current, not a historical record of every bug your game has ever had.

Building Trust During Early Access

Known issues lists are especially important during early access, where players have explicitly opted into an unfinished product. They expect bugs, but they also expect transparency about what’s broken and what’s being prioritized.

Consider adding brief explanations for prioritization decisions. If a visual glitch in the settings menu has been on the list for three months while gameplay bugs get fixed first, players will notice. A note like “Low priority — gameplay-critical bugs are being addressed first” sets expectations and prevents the perception that you’re ignoring the issue.

Be honest about issues you can’t fix. If your game has a known incompatibility with a specific antivirus software or an old GPU driver, say so clearly. Players appreciate candor more than silence. “We are unable to fix this due to a bug in [third-party software] but have reported it to the vendor” is a perfectly acceptable status.

Finally, connect your known issues list to your public roadmap if you have one. When players can see that the bug they’re experiencing is scheduled for the next patch, their frustration turns into patience. Visibility creates trust, and trust is the foundation of a healthy early access community.

A known issues list that never changes is worse than having no list at all — it signals abandonment.