Release candidate
Also called: RC, RC build, RC1, Release candidate build
A release candidate (RC) is a build that will ship unless testing finds a serious bug. A fix makes a new candidate: RC1, RC2 and so on.
A release candidate is a build the team is ready to ship unless testing turns up a significant bug. Wikipedia describes it as a beta version with the potential to be a stable product, and notes that no new features go in at this stage, only fixes (Wikipedia, "Software release life cycle", accessed 11 Nov 2026).
Each fix produces a new candidate. A Microsoft engineer described the Windows 98 era this way: a bug found in RC1 on Monday meant RC2 on Tuesday. The same post gives 166 days from RC1 to the final build for Windows 2000 and 53 for Windows XP (Steve Rowe, Microsoft blog archive, "What does RC1 really mean?", 2006, accessed 11 Nov 2026).
On Steam, the release candidate is the build uploaded to a password-protected beta branch and tested through the Steam client before anyone sets it live on the default branch. Both sources agree on the rule that matters for launch week: after RC1, only fixes that carry little risk go in. Each new candidate then needs at least a smoke test and a short regression pass on its own build ID.
Updated · Written by JJ, founder of Jumbo Jelly.
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Related terms
- Build ID
A Steam build ID is the global number Steam assigns to each uploaded build of a game, used to tell builds apart and to set one live on a branch.
- Steam beta branch
A Steam beta branch is a separate build of a game that players opt into from the game's properties, often locked with a password for testers.
- Gold master
Gold master is the build a studio approves as the release version, after QA signs off that no known game-breaking bugs remain.
- Regression pass
A regression pass retests features that already worked after a code change, to catch bugs the new patch broke in old parts of the game.