The competition in the mobile gaming industry is fierce, and developing a game that will go viral is a challenge in itself. Should you even bother making mobile games in 2024? Well, the market is projected to hit a whopping $99 billion globally in 2024, reaching nearly $119 billion by 2027, with almost 2 billion users.

Another thing that can make it worthy of your investment is prioritizing quality over quantity, a prominent trend in 2024. High user ratings not only prompt others to try out your game but also can influence app store algorithms, giving it more visibility.

Good quality is only possible with thorough testing. But what exactly is meant by “thorough”? Device fragmentation, frequent OS updates, different network conditions, multiplayer features, and localization – all of these require attention. In this post, I’ll share time-proven test cases to help you release well-polished mobile games that users will play on repeat.

Functional Test Cases

Don’t want your users to rage quit? Then do some functional testing to make sure each component of your game operates as it should:

• Verify if no issues appear during game installation, launch, shutdown, and uninstallation

• Test user registration and login process

• Look for UI bugs like misaligned elements, glitches and artifacts, unreadable text, and areas prone to misclicks

• Test your gameplay mechanics like controls, physics, AI behavior, combat mechanics

• Ensure that difficulty levels are appropriate and there are no exploits

• Test everything audio-related: audio settings, sound effects and background music, and audio synchronization

• Run the game in different network conditions (Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G, 5G, no network)

• In the multiplayer mode, check the matchmaking process and lobby chat functionality

• Test in-app purchases, ensuring the purchased items are delivered and correctly reflected in the player’s inventory

• Check if users can subscribe to paid services and whether the subscription grants the advertised benefits

• Test refund processes and error handling in transactions

• Check if the game can handle unexpected errors, such as connectivity issues, device limitations, and internal errors, gracefully

Example of a functional bug in Cross The Ages: TCG. Agreeing to Terms of Service results in an error

Compatibility Test Cases

Compatibility testing may feel like a grind, but that’s what will help you address the device fragmentation challenge. You want to provide a seamless experience for as many players as possible:

• Test how the game works on the target operating systems

• Keep track of operating system updates and perform regression testing to verify compatibility with new OS versions

• Verify that your game supports gestures specific to the OS, like swipe on Android or 3D Touch on iOS

• Check whether your game drains the battery when it’s running in the background

• Test the game on multiple popular devices with varying screen sizes, resolutions, and aspect ratios

• Check your game compatibility with external game controllers, such as MFi controllers

• Test the game’s interaction with other installed applications and third-party services

Example of a compatibility bug in Elemental Raiders: On iPhone 12, the search screen is cropped and impossible to scroll

Performance Test Cases

Don’t want to lag behind your competitors? Provide lag-free gaming. Performance testing will help you achieve a visually stunning and responsive game. Here’s what needs to be done:

• Check if the install and launch times are adequate

• Monitor the frame rate during gameplay, documenting lagging or dropped frames

• Test how quickly the game drains the device’s battery

• Check if the amount of memory the game uses exceeds device limitations

• Monitor the workload on the device’s processor and graphics card and watch for overheating

• Perform initial load testing to determine the game’s baseline performance

• Identify the point where the game’s performance starts to degrade by gradually increasing the load

• Push the game to its limits with high user loads or intense gameplay scenarios to identify its breaking point

• Test if your game crashes or loses progress in case of interruptions, such as incoming calls, text messages, alarms, or switching apps

• If applicable, verify if the game functions properly offline and transitions seamlessly between online and offline modes

Example of a performance issue in Couple Up!: Most API requests take longer than 3 seconds to respond

Security Test Cases

Hackers taking someone else’s loot can spoil the impression of your game and undermine players’ trust. Level up your game’s security by running these test cases:

• Verify that only authenticated users can access the game

• Check account lockout mechanisms and password recovery processes

• Test if authentication mechanisms like 2FA are strong enough to prevent unauthorized access

• Check what permissions the game requests and whether they are justified

• Check if the user can revoke granted permissions at any time

• Check if the game complies with data privacy regulations like GDPR, COPPA, CCPA, depending on your target audience

Usability Test Cases

Every mobile game developer wants players coming back. Usability testing helps assess how easy it is for players to go from noob to ninja and understand what to tweak to make it more fun and rewarding.

• Test the general usability, looking into things like clarity and brevity of instructions, content abundance and variety, and overall impression

• Check the ease and consistency of navigation, ensuring the menu structure is clear, and controls are always used in the same way

• Test the game balance, ensuring it’s challenging enough to be fun, but at the same time, gives players a fair chance of success

• Check if the game provides players with a sense of purpose and direction

• Evaluate how satisfying or frustrating the progression level is

Localization Test Cases

Developers who want their games to resonate with a worldwide audience localize them. Some do it better than others, and one of the reasons why is the extent of localization testing they perform. Here are must-know test cases to guarantee an immersive experience regardless of the player’s language:

• Check if all in-game text elements, including menus, buttons, tutorials, dialogues, and error messages, are translated into the target languages

• Ensure all audio content is translated as well

• Verify if translations are contextually appropriate and convey the intended meaning and humor

• Document typos, awkward line breaks, and texts overflowing their containers

• Check if special characters, accents, and diacritics are displayed correctly and do not cause crashes

• Confirm that the font used supports all required characters in the target languages

• Watch for cultural references, jokes, or idioms that might not translate well or be offensive in the target culture

• Verify that date and time formats, currency, and measurement units (meters, feet, kilometers, miles) are adapted to the target country’s standards

Bonus Content

For those of you who’d like to dig deeper, I created a more extensive guide, so make sure to check this mobile game testing checklist. It also contains real-life examples of common bugs in mobile games that we at QAwerk encounter quite often. Don’t nerf the fun! Use these test cases to identify elements that can unintentionally frustrate your players.

Final Thoughts

The mobile gaming market isn’t just massive; it’s hungry for quality. In 2024, gamers crave polished experiences, and those can be achieved with ongoing professional testing. Checking if the game runs on your friend’s phone won’t cut it. While this list of test cases will equip you with a solid foundation for testing, remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. The key is to craft a mobile game testing strategy unique to your game’s genre, target audience, and market trends.