testland/platform-cert-overview-reference
Pure-reference catalog of the four platform-holder certification regimes a multi-platform title submits to before release: Microsoft Xbox Requirements (XR) / Xbox certification on learn.microsoft.com, Sony Technical Requirements Checklist (TRC) on the gated PlayStation DevNet portal, Nintendo Lotcheck on the gated Nintendo Developer Portal, and Steam Direct review on partner.steamgames.com. Documents the submission workflow, severity / pass-fail vocabulary, test-bench configurations, and known SLAs for each platform. Cites public sources inline; cites gated NDA portals by stable ID per PLUGIN_AUTHORING.md Step 4 fallback. Use when planning a cert calendar, mapping internal QA findings to the platform's vocabulary, or sequencing submissions across platforms.
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xbox-certification.mdreferences/
Microsoft Xbox Certification - reference
Full Xbox regime detail for platform-cert-overview-reference. Version-specific notes (XR v16.1, GDK monikers, retired XRs) are consolidated in the skill's "Versioning and deprecation" section.
Source of truth
- Process: Certification step-by-step guide on learn.microsoft.com.
- Requirements: Xbox Requirements for Xbox Console Games (currently v16.1, dated 5/01/2026 per the page).
- Test cases: Certification Tested Xbox Requirements and Test Cases.
- PC counterpart: Xbox Network Policies for PC and Mobile.
Stages
Per the Certification step-by-step guide, a submission goes through three stages in order:
- Submission checks - Submission Validator + malware scan. "Submission Validator gives feedback to developers and allows them to address common problems that would cause titles to fail ingestion into Partner Center and/or Certification."
- Build verification testing (BVTs) - "a reduced test pass designed to make sure a product is fully testable and configured properly before entering full certification testing".
- Xbox Requirement (XR) testing - "the bulk of the testing and is where all applicable XR test cases will be validated against your title."
Submission types and SLAs
Per the same guide:
| Submission type | Console SLA | PC (MSIXVC) SLA |
|---|---|---|
| Disc | 6 business days | N/A |
| Digital | 5 business days | 3 business days |
| Digital Content-Update | 3 business days | 1 business day (incl. bypass) |
There are two test-pass types:
- Optional submission - paid, tested in CERT.DEBUG sandbox with red-signed content; no pass/fail decision.
- Final submission - last pass before release / RTM; tested in CERT sandbox with green-signed content on retail devices.
XR categories
XRs are organised into the categories enumerated in the XR document:
| Category | Representative XRs |
|---|---|
| Base requirements | XR-001 (Title Stability), XR-003 (Title Quality), XR-022 (Naming), XR-074 (Service Loss), XR-130 (Console Families and Generations), XR-131 (Display Mode Support), XR-132 (Service Access Limits), XR-133 (Local Storage Write Limit, 1 GiB / 5 min) |
| Security | XR-009 (Secure Title Development, per Microsoft Store policies 10.2 / 10.2.2 / 10.2.3 / 10.2.4) |
| Online Safety and Privacy | XR-013 (Account Linking), XR-014 (Player Data, child / teen handling), XR-015 (Player Communication, with CommunicateUsingText / CommunicateUsingVoice privilege checks), XR-017 (Title Ratings), XR-018 (UGC) |
| Content packages and updates | XR-034 (Streaming Install Initial Play Marker), XR-037 (DLC Dependencies), XR-123 (DLC unlock without relaunch), XR-129 (Intelligent Delivery via PackageInstallChunksAsync) |
| Purchasing | XR-036 (In-Title Pricing), XR-039 (Common Purchase UI) |
| User profiles | XR-045 (Privileges, e.g. XPRIVILEGE_MULTIPLAYER_SESSIONS ID 254, XPRIVILEGE_COMMUNICATIONS ID 252, XPRIVILEGE_USER_CREATED_CONTENT ID 247), XR-046 (Gamertag display), XR-047 (User-Profile Access), XR-048 (Profile Settings Usage), XR-052 (Save Roaming), XR-112 (User and Controller activation), XR-115 (User / Controller add and remove) |
| Achievements and Awards | XR-055 (Counts and Gamerscore - min 10, max 100 launch / 500 lifetime, single ach ≤ 200 GS), XR-057 (No real-money unlocks), XR-058 (No cross-title sharing), XR-060 (No modifying active achievements), XR-062 (PEGI 12 / ESRB EVERYONE 10+ name and description content) |
| Multiplayer sessions | XR-064 (Joinable via shell), XR-067 (MPSD session state), XR-070 (Friends Lists), XR-124 (Game Invitations) |
| Betas and Game Previews | XR-117 (Beta notification splash) |
XRs that are tested in Cert are marked with an asterisk on the source page; not all XRs are tested every submission. See the test cases page above for per-XR Test Steps + Expected Behavior + Pass / Fail examples.
Issue severity vocabulary
Per the Certification step-by-step guide:
| Code | Name | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| CFR | Condition for Resubmission | Title fails cert; must be fixed before resubmit |
| SRI | Standard Reporting Issue | Tied to an XR but not fail-severe; fix recommended |
| ION | Issue of Note | Not tied to an XR; informational |
| Non-Tested | (no code) | XR could not be tested in this pass |
CFR severity is determined by Failure Mode Analysis (FMA) which combines severity × probability × repeatability.
Common hold reasons
Per the same guide, titles are most often placed on Hold because of:
- "Missing or non-functioning partner accounts that are required for testing."
- "Partner services do not support the CERT.DEBUG and CERT sandboxes."
- "Multiplayer does not work as expected."
(Multiplayer issues are a particularly common cert blocker - see
multiplayer-state-machine-coverage
for the test patterns that catch them pre-submission.)
Bench layout (compatibility matrix)
Per the Certification test bench configuration section of the guide:
| Console | SKU | Resolution | Storage | Audio | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xbox One / Xbox Series X | 720p | Internal HDD | Stereo | Instant-On |
| 2 | Xbox One X / Xbox Series S | 4k (alt HDR after 4 h) | Internal HDD | 5.1 Bitstream | Instant-On |
| 3 | Xbox One S / Xbox Series X | 1080p | Internal HDD | Stereo | Energy Saving |
| 4 | Xbox Series S | 1080p | USB HDD | Headset (Windows Sonic) | Instant-On |
| 5 | Xbox Series X | 720p | USB HDD | Stereo | Energy Saving |
Reports
Three report types (per same guide):
- Optional complete report - issued at end of Optional Submission; no pass / fail; lists SRIs and CFRs.
- Final pass / fail report - issued at end of Final Submission; the decision report.
- Interim report - mid-pass snapshot; no pass / fail.
Exception requests
Per the guide: "If your title is not fully compliant with any Xbox Requirement (XR), you can request an exception for that XR. This might occur if your title is introducing innovative features or if strong technical limitations would prevent the title from meeting the XR." Work with Microsoft contacts well in advance - "approval of an exception is not guaranteed."