01 / Discovery
Requirements, business objectives, audience, target platforms and the decisions the project needs to resolve. The output is a scoped direction and a visible list of assumptions.
02 / Game design
Gameplay loop, systems, progression, monetisation and player experience are recorded in a living design specification. References explain intent without substituting for original design.
03 / Technical design
Engine selection, architecture, networking, backend, integrations and performance targets are established around the requirements. High-risk dependencies receive explicit validation tasks.
04 / Pre-production
Proofs of systems, art direction benchmarks and representative content establish feasibility and production pace. The plan is revised against evidence before full content expansion.
05 / Production
Engineering, art, animation, content and backend work are integrated through agreed milestones. Playable builds and issue tracking make the state of the product reviewable.
06 / Alpha
The agreed core game is complete and playable across its main journey. Remaining content, quality and technical risks are recorded rather than hidden behind a milestone label.
07 / Beta
The agreed feature set is complete. Balancing, optimisation, regression testing and defect resolution focus on the intended release experience.
08 / Certification and release readiness
Applicable platform requirements, submission preparation, candidate builds and operational readiness are checked. Platform-holder approval remains subject to their processes.
09 / Launch
The release owner approves a specific build and deployment plan. Monitoring, communications, incident handling and rollback responsibilities are confirmed.
10 / Live operations
Updates, events, analytics, patches, balancing and ongoing content are delivered under a defined service scope. Availability targets and support hours are agreed contractually.