platform-cert-overview-reference

Overview

A multi-platform title that ships on console plus PC submits to four distinct certification regimes, each with its own requirements document, severity vocabulary, test-bench configuration, and SLA. This skill is the pure reference that maps those four regimes onto a common structure so QA leads can plan a cert calendar without re-learning each portal.

Platform	Regime	Document name	Source
Xbox	Xbox Certification	Xbox Requirements (XR)	learn.microsoft.com (public)
PlayStation	Sony TRC	Technical Requirements Checklist	PlayStation DevNet (gated)
Nintendo	Lotcheck	Submission Guidelines	Nintendo Developer Portal (gated)
Steam	Steam Direct	App Review Process	partner.steamgames.com (public)

NDA note. Sony TRC and Nintendo Lotcheck live behind gated portals; their exact clause numbers, SLAs, severity vocabulary, and bench matrices are cited by stable ID ("Sony TRC" / "Nintendo Lotcheck") per PLUGIN_AUTHORING.md Step 4 fallback. Xbox and Steam requirements are public and cited inline.

The six canonical test categories (functional / compliance / compatibility / performance / localization / accessibility) that map across all four regimes are defined in "The six test categories" below.

When to use

• Planning a game test pass - which of the six categories apply, who owns each, and how a bug maps to a category.
• Planning a cert calendar - when to submit, expected SLA, how many parallel passes to budget.
• Mapping a CFR / hold / fail back to internal QA categories.
• Sequencing submissions across platforms - which platform tends to surface which class of issue first.
• Emitting a per-platform pre-submission checklist (see "Building a cert checklist" below).
• Onboarding a new team member to the cert vocabulary without full NDA-portal access on day 1.

The six test categories

A game build is tested against six canonical categories the industry has converged on over three console generations (sources: Microsoft's Certification step-by-step guide, Xbox Accessibility Guidelines (XAG) v3.2, Steam's App Review Process, and Schultz & Bryant, Game Testing All-In-One, 3rd ed., ISBN 9781305077133):

#	Category	Scope	Typical owner
1	Functional	Mechanics, scripting, AI, UI flow, save/load, economy/progression match the design spec.	Engine-specific automation + manual QA
2	Compliance	Build conforms to platform holder's Requirements / TRC / Lotcheck document.	Cert / submission QA
3	Compatibility	Runs across all required SKUs, OS versions, hardware generations, and display/audio/storage configurations.	Lab / device-cloud QA
4	Performance	Hits declared frame-time, load-time, memory, thermal, and battery budgets on each target SKU.	Performance engineers + profilers
5	Localization	Translated strings fit their UI, render in their script, and behave under RTL + CJK + length expansion; VO coverage correct.	LQA agencies + automation
6	Accessibility	Meets platform-required or -recommended accessibility guidelines (Microsoft XAG, AbleGamers, CVAA/EAA where applicable).	Accessibility QA + design

Category notes:

• Functional. Microsoft's Build Verification Testing (BVT) stage is largely functional: "BVTs is a reduced test pass designed to make sure a product is fully testable and configured properly before entering full certification testing" - functional bugs that break BVT block the entire cert pass. Tooling: the engine skills (unity-test-framework, unreal-automation-system, godot-gut-tests) plus recorded-input replay (gameplay-recording-replay).
• Compliance. The per-platform requirement documents and the CFR / SRI / ION severity codes are in references/platform-cert-details.md. A CFR (Condition for Resubmission) fails cert and must be fixed before resubmit.
• Compatibility. The Xbox 5-console bench layout that exemplifies the required matrix - plus the Sony / Nintendo / PC equivalents - is in references/platform-cert-details.md.
• Performance. Frame-time targets (16.67 ms / 60 Hz, 33.33 ms / 30 Hz) under representative load; long-session memory stability ("soak" test). Microsoft requires a minimum sustained framerate per XR testing; Sony TRC performance gates and Nintendo thermal + battery rules are NDA (cite by stable ID).
• Localization. The cert bench varies Console Language across consoles to exercise localized assets. Runtime risks screenshot review misses: German string overflow (~30% longer than English on average), CJK subpixel rendering, Arabic/Hebrew bidirectional layout, missing VO takes, lip-sync drift.
• Accessibility. Microsoft XAG v3.2 entries each specify Goal / Scoping questions / Implementation guidelines; the Microsoft Gaming Accessibility Testing Service (MGATS) tests against the XAG. Regulatory overlays: US CVAA (in-game communications), EU EAA from June 2025.

Triage workflow

Given a bug report: identify the symptom → map to a category (cheatsheet below) → assign the owner from the table → set severity in the platform holder's vocabulary (CFR / SRI / ION for Xbox; comparable NDA tiers for Sony / Nintendo - triage CFRs first) → record the XR / TRC / Lotcheck ID in the bug tracker so cert QA can verify the fix → confirm the category and requirement ID still resolve in the current requirements list before closing (a stale XR number is the common triage error).

Symptom	Category	Severity hint
Crash on save load	Functional	High - cert-blocker
XR-024 fail (unhandled controller disconnect)	Compliance	CFR - cert-blocker
Black screen on PS4 base, fine on PS5	Compatibility	High - gens-affecting
22 fps in raid encounter (target 30)	Performance	Triage vs. budget
German "Zurück" overflows button	Localization	Sev 3 - UI
Subtitles missing in cutscene 7	Accessibility	XAG fail
Host migration drops players	Multiplayer (functional + compliance)	High

Cross-axes: multiplayer and content rating

Multiplayer is not a seventh category - it cuts across functional + compliance + compatibility + performance: state-machine correctness under packet loss / latency / disconnect (see multiplayer-state-machine-coverage), matchmaking + session lifecycle, anti-cheat compatibility with platform integrity systems. Per Microsoft's certification-guide, "Multiplayer does not work as expected" is one of the most common reasons a title is placed on Hold during an Xbox cert pass.

Content rating (ESRB / PEGI / CERO / USK / IARC) is a regulatory classification, not a testing category - but Steam requires the Content Survey before review, platform holders gate distribution on the local rating board's certificate, and localization may interact with rating (removing gambling minigames for the Belgian release).

Certification regimes

Per-regime detail lives in one reference file each:

• Microsoft Xbox Certification - public XR requirements, three-stage submission (Submission checks -> BVT -> XR testing), CFR / SRI / ION severity, the 5-console bench matrix, and SLAs (5 business days digital). See references/xbox-certification.md.
• Sony PlayStation (TRC) and Nintendo Lotcheck - the two NDA-gated console regimes: TRC / Lotcheck structure, submission workflow, severity, and the Switch handheld/docked + Joy-Con test surface unique to Nintendo. See references/console-nda-regimes.md.
• Steam Direct - the lightest regime: two parallel reviews (Store Presence
  • Product Build), 3-5 business days each (plan for 7); the bar is "starts up
  • features match store page + Steam Wallet for IAP". See references/steam-direct.md.

Versioning and deprecation

Time-sensitive version facts, isolated here so the body stays evergreen:

• The Xbox XR list ships per GDK release; v16.1 (dated 5/01/2026) is current at time of writing. Verify the version that applies to your GDK before quoting XR numbers.
• The XR page header lists gdk-2510, gdk-2604, and gdk-2610 monikers.
• The May 2026 v16.1 release retired XR-134 (Data Transfer Using Web Protocols) per the Changes in this Release table; XR identifiers churn release-to-release.
• Sony PS5 TRC supersedes PS4 TRC (PS5 Pro adds 60-Hz / 8K / Game Boost guidance); Nintendo Lotcheck tracks Switch hardware revisions and Switch 2.

Cross-platform comparison summary

Dimension	Xbox	Sony	Nintendo	Steam
Requirements doc	XR (versioned per GDK)	TRC (NDA)	Lotcheck (NDA)	App Review Process
Public visibility	Full	Gated	Gated	Full
Submission stages	3 (val + BVT + XR)	Multi-step (NDA)	Multi-step (NDA)	2 parallel (store + build)
Test-pass types	Optional + Final	(NDA)	(NDA)	One pass per submission
Severity vocab	CFR / SRI / ION	NDA (comparable)	NDA (comparable)	Pass / Fail (informal)
Console SLA (digital)	5 BD	(NDA - practitioner-weeks)	(NDA - practitioner-weeks)	3-5 BD (plan for 7)
Content-update SLA	3 BD (1 BD bypass on PC)	(NDA)	(NDA)	Same as initial review
Bench matrix	5 consoles × SKU / display / audio / power	PS4 / PS4 Pro / PS5 / PS5 Pro (NDA)	Switch / OLED / Lite / Switch 2 + handheld/docked (NDA)	Per-OS startup
Accessibility surface	XAG v3.2 (recommended; MGATS service available)	TRC clauses + Sony's accessibility guidance (NDA)	Lotcheck clauses (NDA)	Not gated
Achievements / Trophies surface	XR-055 / -057 / -058 / -060 / -062	Trophies (NDA)	None native to Lotcheck	Steam Achievements (no cert gate)

Sequencing across platforms

A pattern that surfaces issues earliest:

1. Xbox Optional Submission first. Public requirements + paid pre-pass means partners get the most explicit feedback on the most-numerous XR list before sinking it into Sony / Nintendo submission slots.
2. Sony TRC dry-run (internal, against the partner's most recent TRC version). Patterns the team learned from Xbox port over.
3. Nintendo Lotcheck if the title supports Switch - handheld / docked + Joy-Con state surface is unique and needs its own pass.
4. Steam Direct can usually slot in late; the bar is the lowest.

This is a heuristic, not a mandate - partners with strong in-house TRC expertise often reverse the Xbox / Sony ordering.

Building a cert checklist

To turn a target platform into a ready-to-run pre-submission checklist, follow this workflow (inputs: target platform - xbox / playstation / nintendo / steam / all; optional milestone context, title-features list, target hardware SKUs):

1. Identify the gating document from the regimes table above: Xbox XR v16.1 (public), Sony TRC (gated - stable ID "Sony TRC"), Nintendo Lotcheck (gated - stable ID "Nintendo Lotcheck"), Steam App Review Process (public). For all, emit one section per platform in that order.
2. Filter by title features. Mark items Not Applicable when a requirement only applies to a feature the title does not use (e.g., XR-064 Joinable via shell is N/A for a single-player-only title). Keep the row and mark it N/A with the reason - never silently omit, so reviewers can confirm the exclusion is intentional.
3. Emit one checklist section per platform. Header row: requirements-doc name + version, source URL or stable-ID cite, gated vs public, submission SLA from the comparison table above. Then a table with columns # | Requirement | Description | Test Category | Pass Signal | N/A? - the Test Category comes from the six-category taxonomy above; the Pass Signal names the observable outcome that counts as a pass. Public platforms get requirement IDs + inline URLs; gated platforms get bucket names + the stable-ID cite - never reproduce NDA clause text verbatim.
4. Append sequencing advice from "Sequencing across platforms" above, plus the platform's common cert blockers (e.g., Xbox's most common hold reasons - missing partner accounts, sandbox partner-service gaps, multiplayer failures - per the certification guide).

Refuse to emit a checklist item whose claim has no available source - surface the gap instead of inventing text. Engine test scenario files are a different job: the game-test-scenario-author agent authors those.

Anti-patterns

Anti-pattern	Why it fails	Fix
Treating cert as a Q4 milestone	Late-found CFRs delay launch by weeks	Run XR / TRC checklists from milestone 1
Treating "QA" as one undifferentiated bucket	Loses ownership; compliance gaps surface at cert	Use the six categories explicitly in test plans + bug-tracker fields
Compatibility on the dev kit only	Retail SKUs (Series S, PS4 base, Switch handheld) behave differently	Lab test on retail hardware per the bench layout in references/platform-cert-details.md
Performance averaged over the level	Spikes cause CFRs; averages hide them	Frame-time histograms, p99, sustained-window measurements
Localization screenshot review	Misses runtime overflow, missing VO, lip-sync drift	Playthrough every locale; not a glanced screenshot
Accessibility as a launch checklist	Architectural changes (rebindable input) can't be retrofitted	XAG scoping questions at design milestone, not at submission
Multiplayer tested only in low-latency LAN	Drops, NAT, host migration fail in the wild	Inject loss / jitter; see multiplayer-state-machine-coverage
Optional submission "to find out where we are" without prep	Burns paid slot to find bugs internal QA could have	Run internal XR pre-pass before any paid Optional
Submitting before partner-service stubs are ready	Held titles cost real calendar days per Microsoft's common hold reasons	Stand up CERT.DEBUG / CERT sandbox partner accounts before submission
Using XR-only language with Sony / Nintendo teams	Cross-platform vocabulary collapses; finger-pointing	Translate findings via the comparison table above
Treating Steam Direct review as "real cert"	Misses console requirements that wouldn't surface on Steam	Use the four regimes' actual requirements docs - Steam is not a proxy
Cross-network play without privilege checks	Xbox XR-045 / XR-007 fail - CFR	Use XPRIVILEGE_* constants per the XR-045 privilege table
Achievements that "drift" between updates	Xbox XR-060 fail - published achievements can't change unlock rules / rewards	Lock achievement design before launch; only modify name / description / icon post-launch
Local-storage writes > 1 GiB / 5 min	Xbox XR-133 fail	Rate-limit save / cache flushes

Limitations

• NDA-only details. Sony TRC and Nintendo Lotcheck exact clause numbers, SLAs, severity vocabulary, and bench matrices are behind gated portals - see the NDA note above and references/console-nda-regimes.md.
• Version churn. XR numbers and GDK monikers change release-to-release - see the Versioning and deprecation section.
• Cloud / streaming variants (Xbox Cloud Gaming, PlayStation Cloud Streaming, GeForce NOW, Nintendo Cloud Streaming) have additional supplementary requirements not enumerated here.
• Region-specific overlays (China's NPPA, Korea's GRAC, EU EAA from 2025-06-28) layer on top of platform cert and are out of scope of this skill - consult per-region documentation.
• Mobile (iOS App Store / Google Play / Galaxy Store) is not a "platform cert" in the console sense; not covered.