LQA is Where Your Automation Should Go Next

When it comes to delivering high-quality, immersive games, the quality assurance (QA) process is critical. As games become more complex and global, QA has evolved, playing a direct role in speed-to-market, player experience, and ROI. That’s why automation has become standard in functional QA.

But for many studios, the real opportunity isn’t automation itself; it’s what comes next. The time and budget saved through automated QA processes can be reallocated to areas that directly impact how players experience your game. One of the smartest moves? Reinvesting those resources into localization quality assurance (LQA). Where automation boosts efficiency, LQA ensures the cultural and contextual quality of your game remains intact, creating more nuanced player experiences for every market.

Why Traditional QA Is So Expensive

Functional QA is a cornerstone of game development, but it comes with a hefty price tag. Testing across thousands of scenarios, identifying bugs, and verifying fixes across multiple platforms and devices consumes time, tools, and talent. As games grow more complex—larger worlds, more features, support for more devices—so do the costs. Last year alone, the need for cross-platform testing surged by 35%.

Because functional QA often absorbs so much of the budget, LQA is frequently underfunded, despite directly influencing how global players experience your game. The result? Missed opportunities to connect with players across markets.

How QA Automation Supports Smarter Resource Allocation

With much of QA’s repetitive work now being streamlined through automation, studios are seeing faster turnarounds, fewer bugs at launch, and more bandwidth across QA teams. This efficiency isn’t just operational. It’s strategic.

Benefits of QA Automation:

• Faster test cycles and turnaround times: Automated scripts keep teams in sync with frequent updates and continuous release cycles.
• Reduced human error and higher consistency: Automation increases reliability in standard test cases.
• Scalable testing for updates and expansions: As your game grows in complexity, automation can easily scale to handle more test cases without increasing headcount.
• More predictable, lower costs over time: It improves the productivity of your existing QA teams, lowering long-term costs and freeing up budget for more value-driving activities.

QA automation is no longer an edge; it’s an expectation. But what separates high-performing teams is how they reinvest those gains.

The Power of Investing in LQA

While automation can streamline functional QA, it can’t replicate the human touch needed for LQA. According to a survey by Google Cloud, 37% of game developers found that gamers are looking for “more lifelike experiences”, not just technically polished ones.

Imagine this: A player boots up your game on launch day, excited to dive into the world you’ve built. Everything runs flawlessly—no crashes, no bugs. But then they hit the first joke in the dialogue, and it falls flat, mistranslated in their language. That moment of disconnection is exactly why the real opportunity lies in LQA.

LQA ensures that your game resonates culturally, linguistically, and contextually with players in every target market. It’s about reviewing tone, idiomatic expressions, and unique terms within the context of the game—all things machines aren’t fully equipped to evaluate effectively.

Benefits of LQA:

• Culturally relevant experiences: LQA ensures that dialogue, humor, and references feel natural and appropriate to each audience.
• Linguistic accuracy in context: Verifying translations in the actual game environment helps catch errors that can slip through text-only reviews.
• Protects brand reputation and revenue: LQA helps avoid embarrassing mistakes, alienated audiences, and negative reviews that can hurt brand perception.

LQA is inherently a more nuanced and creative review, making it essential for a positive player experience. By reallocating even a fraction of QA automation savings into LQA, you can ensure that every player feels fully engaged and at home in the game world, no matter their language or culture. It’s a strategy that’s already paying off for studios around the world. Learn how we helped OliveX combine functional QA and LQA to support a successful global launch HERE.

Take Control of Your QA and LQA Strategy Today

The choice is clear: To truly stand out, studios must focus on what comes after automation—investing in LQA that delivers unique player experiences and drives global engagement.

Ready to optimize your LQA and deliver unforgettable localized experiences?

Explore our QA and Localization services today and ensure your next launch feels seamless and unforgettable for every player, everywhere.