launch-checklist

name	launch-checklist
description	First launch specific checklist. Soft launch plan, metrics to watch, and go/no-go criteria. Use for the first public launch of a new Roblox game.

/launch-checklist — First Launch Preparation

Delegate to: release-manager (with producer, analytics-retention-specialist, community-manager)

Unique to First Launch

First launches are higher-risk than updates — no existing player base to forgive bugs, and a bad first impression is hard to recover from. This checklist goes beyond /release-checklist with launch-specific considerations.

Phases

Phase 1: Soft Launch (Private Testing)

• Closed beta with ~50-200 testers
• Group invite-only or private server code
• Collect feedback via structured form
• Monitor crash rate, FPS, feedback quality
• Iterate on top 3 issues before public launch

Phase 2: Limited Public (Optional)

• Public but unadvertised — soft launch to see organic discovery
• Watch Discover page performance
• Verify critical metrics hold up at higher concurrency
• Fix any issues found in limited public before full marketing push

Phase 3: Marketing Push

• Content creator outreach kicks off
• Social media campaign active
• Paid ads running (if budget)
• Community events scheduled
• Launch trailer published

Phase 4: Launch Day

• All hands on deck for first 4-8 hours
• Real-time monitoring in place
• Quick-response plan for critical bugs
• Player support active (Discord mods)
• Press/community engagement

Critical Go/No-Go Criteria

Go Criteria (all must be true)

• No S0 bugs open
• No S1 bugs affecting core loop
• Crash rate < 1% in soft launch
• D1 retention in soft launch > 20% (prefer 25%+)
• Average session length > 10 minutes in soft launch
• Server costs manageable at projected launch CCU
• Team ready for launch-day support
• Rollback plan tested

No-Go Triggers

• Any S0 bug discovered in final testing
• Crash rate > 2% in soft launch
• DataStore failures > 0.5% of operations
• Server crashes > 5% of sessions
• Team burnout / not ready for launch support
• Competitive release same day (potential to delay)

Launch Day Monitoring

Metrics to Watch (First 4 Hours)

• CCU: Real-time concurrent users
• Join Rate: New players per minute
• Session Length: First-session duration
• Crash Rate: Client/server crashes
• Error Rate: Script errors
• DataStore Errors: Save/load failures
• Revenue: ARPDAU, conversion rate (if monetization enabled)

Alert Thresholds (trigger immediate response)

• CCU drops > 50% in 15 minutes
• Crash rate > 5%
• DataStore error rate > 1%
• Player reports > 10 of same issue

Response Protocol

1. Verify issue (reproduce or confirm from multiple reports)
2. Classify severity
3. If hotfixable: run /hotfix workflow
4. If not: consider rollback via Studio version history
5. Communicate to community (Discord, Twitter)
6. Document for post-launch retro

Output

# Launch Checklist: [Game Name]

**Target Launch Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Soft Launch Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Phase**: [Planning / Soft Launch / Public Limited / Marketing / Launch / Post-Launch]

## Go/No-Go Status
- Critical criteria: [X/Y met]
- **Recommendation**: [Go / Delay / Reset Soft Launch]

## Monitoring Setup
- Dashboards: [list]
- Alerts: [list]
- On-call: [who]

## Communication Plan
- Discord: [announcement ready?]
- Twitter: [post schedule?]
- Creators: [notified?]

## Risk Register
1. [Top launch risk]
2. [Top launch risk]

## Next Steps
1. [Immediate action]
2. [Immediate action]