One tester, one day, one honest report
A €290 smoke test for your PC game before a Steam demo, a hotfix or a first public build. One tester spends 8 hours on your build the way a stranger would, on hardware you do not own, and you get a prioritized bug list with repro steps and video in 2 business days.
Book a 30-min call See a sample report
Who books a Smoke Test
- A demo heading to Steam Next Fest. The first 30 minutes on a clean PC decide the wishlist. The 52-point demo checklist is free; the Smoke Test is someone else running it.
- A hotfix you want to set live today. Regression on the changed areas and saves before the default branch updates.
- A first build nobody outside the team has run. Including projects built largely with AI tools. We measure, we do not judge: in the September 2026 edition of our index, 24.8% of new Steam games carried an AI disclosure.
What 8 hours buys
| Block | Hours | What the tester does |
|---|---|---|
| Clean install and first launch | 1 | Fresh Steam install, default resolution, Alt+Tab, windowed/fullscreen, settings save and apply. |
| Input | 1 | Keyboard and mouse rebinding, Xbox and PlayStation controller through Steam Input, prompts switching, hot-plug. |
| First hour of play | 3 | Tutorial abuse (skip, die, wrong order), critical path, getting stuck in geometry, placeholder text. |
| Saves and quit | 1 | Save, load, autosave interrupt, force-close, relaunch and Continue. |
| Second hardware tier | 1 | Same opening on a lower-end PC or laptop: frame rate in the heaviest scene, shader hitching, load from HDD. |
| Report | 1 | Every issue with severity, priority, repro steps, build ID, hardware and video, critical issues on top. |
Why start small
In September 2026, the median new Steam game with at least 10 early reviews had 6.5% of its first-14-day reviews mention a bug, crash, stutter or freeze, and 22.1% of games shipped a patch within 24 hours (Steam Launch Bug Index, October 2026 edition, n=592). Most of what those patches fix is visible to one tester with a fresh install and a day.
From call to report in 4 steps
- Call, 30 minutes. The game, the milestone, your minimum spec. If a Smoke Test is too small for what you need, we say so.
- Send the build. A Steam branch key or build, a one-page brief (template), one contact person, an NDA if you use one.
- 8 hours of testing. One tester, two hardware tiers, the blocks above.
- Report in 2 business days. In your tracker or as a document. Then you decide: fix and ship, or a Launch Health Check for the full pass.
Questions studios ask
What does a smoke test cover in 8 hours?
First launch on a clean machine, settings that save and apply, keyboard, mouse and controller input, the first 30 to 60 minutes of play, saving and loading, and a quit-and-relaunch. The tester plays like a Next Fest player with a fresh install, and logs everything that crashes, blocks or confuses, with repro steps and video.
What does it not cover?
Full regression of a large game, multiplayer at scale, achievements end to end, localization in every language, and certification. Those need the Launch Health Check or a scoped engagement. The report says plainly what was covered and what was not, so you can decide what to do next.
Can I get the report in my tracker?
Yes. Add us to Jira, Trello or ClickUp and every bug lands there with severity, priority, build ID, hardware, repro steps and attachments. If you prefer a standalone document, you get one in the same format as the sample report.
Is one tester enough for an AI-assisted project?
For a first outside look, yes. A solo developer who built with AI tools usually needs one honest answer first: does the build survive a stranger’s PC and the first hour. The Smoke Test gives that answer in two days. If the list is long, the Health Check is the next step.
How fast can you start?
Usually within a few business days of the call, depending on the queue. You send a Steam branch key or build, a one-page brief and a contact; the tester starts and the report arrives within 2 business days of receiving the build.