Quick answer: Before launch, list the bugs you know are shipping with workarounds, decide where it will live, and publish it at launch. A pre-prepared known-issues list deflects duplicate reports, sets expectations, and signals competence from the first hour.
No game ships bug-free, and you usually know about many of the remaining issues before launch, the ones you triaged as not-quite-blocking. Letting players discover these cold generates duplicate reports, frustration, and negative reviews. Preparing a known-issues list in advance, ready to publish at launch, converts those known bugs from nasty surprises into managed expectations, and it is one of the cheapest pieces of launch prep you can do.
List What You Already Know Is Shipping
By launch, your bug tracker already contains issues you have decided to ship with, things too minor to block release or too risky to fix at the last minute. These are your known-issues list. Going through your tracker before launch and pulling out the bugs that will be live on day one means you can get ahead of them publicly instead of being caught off guard when players report what you already knew about.
Write each one from the player's perspective, the symptom they will notice, and include a workaround wherever one exists. A known issue paired with 'you can avoid this by doing X' keeps players playing instead of refunding, which is the difference between a list of excuses and a genuinely useful resource.
Decide Where It Lives and Publish at Launch
A known-issues list only deflects reports if players can find it. Decide in advance where it will live, a Steam announcement, a pinned Discord post, an in-game notice, or a public tracker page, and have it ready to go live the moment you launch. Publishing it at launch, not days later, is what stops the first wave of duplicate reports for issues you already knew about.
Bugnet's public tracker can serve as this list directly: mark the known issues public with their status, and players see them without contacting you. Because it is driven by your real tracked issues, it stays accurate, and updating a status updates what players see.
Use It to Set Expectations and Build Trust
A known-issues list published at launch does more than deflect duplicates, it signals competence and honesty. Players who see that you already know about the rough edges, and have workarounds and a plan, read it as a sign you are on top of your game, not blindsided by it. That impression protects your early reviews far more than pretending everything is perfect.
Keep it honest, including the painful entries. Omitting the bug everyone will hit makes players think you are hiding it, which is worse than disclosing it. A complete, current known-issues list at launch is a transparency move that pays off in trust, fewer duplicate reports, and steadier reviews through the rocky first days.
You already know which bugs are shipping. Tell players first, with workarounds, and publish at launch.