2025 Schedule

PDT 08:00 – 13:00 | EDT 11:00 – 16:00

BST 16:00 – 21:00 | CEST 17:00 – 22:00

EEST 18:00 – 23:00 | IST 20:30 – 01:30

Select your timezone:

Wednesday 21 May 2025

15:00

Platform open

16:00

Welcome

16:05

AI in game testing: Transforming processes and enhancing outcomes

Karol Truchan, QA Lead
Netflix Games

Synopsis

We will delve into how AI accelerates QA artifact creation, converting Slack conversations into actionable bug reports, analyzing images, or even, breaking down user stories into comprehensive test cases. Furthermore, we will highlight how AI assists in navigating extensive documentation, providing answers without delay to even the most vaguely phrased questions. Additionally, we will have a glimpse into research where AI simulated players offer valuable insights into a game’s quality, helping to expand the role and impact of the QA team.

Join us to discover how AI is not just a tool, but a strategic partner in elevating the QA process to new heights.

Playmaker test planning and carrying your team

Toby Hurtubise, QA Engineer III
Riot Games

Synopsis

Sick of being a QA heal-bot? Grab the lantern and join Toby as he talks about using Test Planning to boost QA from reactive support to proactive playmaker. Catch the talk that made critics (Toby’s wife) say ‘Yeah, I dunno babe. It sounded pretty good.’

Listeners will learn how to use test planning to predict the future. Well, maybe not actually predict the future, but at least convince everyone you’re psychic. They’ll be inspired to use planning to get vision on everything, like workplace map hacks — but without the shame of being a dirty cheater. They’ll also get a healthy dose of QA Copium as we collectively grapple with existential dread.

16:45

Comfort break - 15 minutes

17:00

Data-driven decision making

Tommy Dieterich, QA Manager
Team Tom

Synopsis

Finding ways to objectively measure subjective plans and goals in order to more confidently track health and coverage.

Is test automation working for you, or are you working for it? What cosmic rays, runaway rockets & market crashes teach us

Marc Manuel Filiuta, Associate Producer
Ubisoft Milan

Synopsis

How do you make sure you’re extracting value efficiently from your test automation endeavors? What do you need to do to set it up for success? We’ll discuss this and more, in detail.

17:40

Game Quality Academy Launch

17:55

Comfort break - 15 minutes

18:10

Quality partnerships: From storming to performing

Jennifer Chesnes, Software Quality Engineer II
&
Crewe Gerhardt, Quality Engineer
Xbox Game Studios

Synopsis

This presentation discusses the critical elements of partnership dynamics, including the importance of quality partnerships, key factors which influence partnerships, and the stages of partnership development. These partnership dynamics are then applied to a contentious partnership to display how repairing trust and reestablishing effective collaboration within an established partnership is not only possible but an essential component of guaranteeing future success.

Ctrl+Alt+QC: Rebooting quality and operations with data

Ayan Sen, QC Operations Manager
&
Jawad Shakil
Ubisoft India

Synopsis

In today’s fast-paced industry, leveraging data is no longer optional—it’s essential. As a QC leader, I will share how a data-driven approach can revolutionize Quality Control, enhancing both day-to-day tasks and core operations.

Part 1: Data in QC Tasks

Standardizing Dashboards
Leveraging Insights for Decision-Making

Part 2: Data in QC Operations

Improving Collaboration
Enhancing Outcomes

By embracing a data-driven approach, we can transform Quality Control from a reactive function to a proactive, strategic asset. Standardized dashboards and actionable insights are the keys to unlocking this potential, leading to better decision-making, improved collaboration, and outstanding outcomes.

18:50

Comfort break - 15 minutes

19:05

As we go up, we go down

Matt McClure, Senior QA Manager
2K Games

The QA DRI story: A framework for excellence in quality assurance

Alyse Kravetz, Senior QA Analyst
Epic Games

Synopsis

By standardizing QA processes, improving communication, and promoting accountability, this framework enables internal and dependent teams to deliver high-quality projects in a more predictable and efficient manner. This translates to reduced rework, faster time-to-market, and increased confidence in our releases.

Testing beyond limits: Test automation at scale for Battlefield

Thu Thai, Software Engineering Manager
&
Michael Harnetty, Senior Software Engineer
DICE Studios

Synopsis

The Software Quality and Tech organization at Battlefield focuses on ensuring game quality and the best player experience, tackling challenges such as testing in development environments, hardware limitations, cross-platform with realistic game-play simulation, and lack of data for troubleshooting. To address these issues, we have enhanced our test automation framework using the Frostbite engine, which effectively resolves many existing problems and sets us apart in the industry.

19:45

Comfort break - 15 minutes

20:00

Embracing authenticity: Bringing your self to work

Selina Coppersmith, Quality Engineer
Xbox Game Studios

Evolving role of AI in quality control

Sarvesh Shroff, R&D Manager
Ubisoft India

Synopsis

Traditionally, manual testing has been the cornerstone of QC, relying heavily on human testers to identify bugs. The advent of automation testing introduced scripting to replicate repetitive tasks, boosting productivity.

However, as games grew more complex, AI-based testing emerged, leveraging machine learning to predict and identify defects, creating intelligent bots that mimic diverse player styles, and optimize testing processes.

Today, generative AI (Gen-AI) is revolutionizing game testing by generating dynamic test scenarios and crafting realistic in-game assets for validation.

Looking ahead, agentic AI systems represent the next transformative leap in game testing. These systems can dynamically adapt to changes in the game environment, such as new content updates or emergent gameplay patterns, and adjust their testing strategies accordingly.

This redefines QC tester roles, allowing them to focus on creative and strategic tasks such as designing complex test cases, analyzing AI-generated results, and ensuring that the human element of gaming—empathy and player experience—remains intact. All forms of AI act as an intelligent assistant, amplifying QC testers capabilities and enabling teams to focus on high-level creative and strategic decision-making. This synergy between human expertise and AI intelligence promises a future where gaming quality and thereby player experience is levelled up.

20:40

Game Quality Awards

20:55

Closing remarks

21:00

Platform remains open for connecting in the lounges

22:00

End of Day 1

Thursday 22 May 2025

15:00

Platform open

16:00

Welcome and day 1 highlights

16:10

Evolution of QA - quality over quantity

Shant Boyatzian, Senior QA Manager
2K Games

Synopsis

The presentation will cover 2Ks transition to a quality driven approach for the WWE franchise. It covers the shift from a traditional focus on speed and quantity to prioritizing quality in testing processes.

Enhancing quality through communication & team structure

Razvan Safta, Head of QA
Funcom Bucharest

Quality design: A force multiplier for game development

Timothy Lewinson, Principal Quality Designer
Electronic Arts

Synopsis

Empowering what the interactive entertainment industry has long known as traditional black box testing into the new future state of Quality Design. At Electronic Arts, Quality Designers develop, strategize and deploy cutting end-to-end strategies based on 4 overarching skillsets that ensure test design with tangible impact earlier in production, driving quality upstream and partnering with development to build games in a better, more cohesive manner.

16:50

Comfort break - 15 minutes

17:05

Advocating for quality tools and automation

Nick Lewis, Technical Quality Analyst II
Riot Games

Synopsis

Everybody says they want to utilize tools and automation in their QA processes but it can be hard to know when and how to implement them. Join me as I go over some learnings from my 10+ years of working on League of Legends and explore the successes and failures of various tools and automation solutions to common quality problems.

Harnessing telemetry: A synergistic approach to quality

Dalton Waterbury, Quality Engineer II
Xbox Game Studios

17:45

Comfort break - 15 minutes

18:00

The power of a productive 'No': Enhancing outcomes and relationships

Lewis Read, Quality Lead
Xbox Game Studios

Synopsis

Join us for an insightful presentation on how saying “No” in a curious, justified, and helpful manner can transform your professional interactions and impact.

Discover why refusal to say Yes is necessary and learn the practical ways to communicate that effectively, turning potentially negative conversations into positives.

By adopting this mindset, you can add significant value to your role, become a sought-after advisor, and enhance your impact on projects, teams, and relationships. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn how a well-placed “No” can lead to better outcomes for all.

Optimize development, not games: Breaking through the scale barriers

David King, Senior Director of Technology
&
Ivan Doumenc, Director of Product Management
Electronic Arts

Synopsis

Video games are getting larger, with more content being delivered faster, and often direct to consumers. Traditional video games QA approaches rely on people intensive “last minute” reviews of software, even when engaging with test automation and other smart practices; The so-called “QA bottleneck”. This session is looking at alternative approaches to ensuring quality by focusing on the development processes, and not just the game.

This session addresses:

Looking at current trends in AAA game development, and where they will likely go in the future.
QA bottleneck identification.
The power of optimizing development in addressing bottlenecks and scalability.
Practical examples of improvements.
Implementing this for your team.
Skillsets required.
Call to action: Closing the gap between video games and other software industry QA.

Opening up Unreal Engine gameplay automation with RPC-based testing

Ben Salem, Senior SDET
Epic Games

Synopsis

Unreal functional testing now supports non-C++ languages – a walkthrough of how to use the new framework, with some C# samples provided and other tips on usage.