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Complete launch readiness validation covering every department: code, content, store, marketing, community, infrastructure, legal, and go/no-go sign-offs.
Brownfield onboarding — audits existing project artifacts for template format compliance (not just existence), classifies gaps by impact, and produces a numbered migration plan. Run this when joining an in-progress project or upgrading from an older template version. Distinct from /project-stage-detect (which checks what exists) — this checks whether what exists will actually work with the template's skills.
Creates an Architecture Decision Record (ADR) documenting a significant technical decision, its context, alternatives considered, and consequences. Every major technical choice should have an ADR.
Validates completeness and consistency of the project architecture against all GDDs. Builds a traceability matrix mapping every GDD technical requirement to ADRs, identifies coverage gaps, detects cross-ADR conflicts, verifies engine compatibility consistency across all decisions, and produces a PASS/CONCERNS/FAIL verdict. The architecture equivalent of /design-review.
Guided, section-by-section Art Bible authoring. Creates the visual identity specification that gates all asset production. Run after /brainstorm is approved and before /map-systems or any GDD authoring begins.
Audits game assets for compliance with naming conventions, file size budgets, format standards, and pipeline requirements. Identifies orphaned assets, missing references, and standard violations.
Generate per-asset visual specifications and AI generation prompts from GDDs, level docs, or character profiles. Produces structured spec files and updates the master asset manifest. Run after art bible and GDD/level design are approved, before production begins.
| name | launch-checklist |
| description | Complete launch readiness validation covering every department: code, content, store, marketing, community, infrastructure, legal, and go/no-go sign-offs. |
| argument-hint | [launch-date or 'dry-run'] |
| user-invocable | true |
| allowed-tools | Read, Glob, Grep, Write |
| model | sonnet |
Explicit invocation only: This skill should only run when the user explicitly requests it with
/launch-checklist. Do not auto-invoke based on context matching.
Read the argument for the launch date or dry-run mode. Dry-run mode generates the checklist without creating sign-off entries or writing files.
CLAUDE.md for tech stack, target platforms, and team structureproduction/milestones/production/releases/design/live-ops/content-calendar.md if it existsTODO, FIXME, HACK comments and their locationsconsole.log, print(), or debug output left in production codeplaceholder, temp_, WIP_)# Launch Checklist: [Game Title]
Target Launch: [Date or DRY RUN]
Generated: [Date]
---
## 1. Code Readiness
### Build Health
- [ ] Clean build on all target platforms
- [ ] Zero compiler warnings
- [ ] All unit tests passing
- [ ] All integration tests passing
- [ ] Performance benchmarks within targets
- [ ] No memory leaks (verified via extended soak test)
- [ ] Build size within platform limits
- [ ] Build version correctly set and tagged in source control
### Code Quality
- [ ] TODO count: [N] (zero required for launch, or documented exceptions)
- [ ] FIXME count: [N] (zero required)
- [ ] HACK count: [N] (each must have documented justification)
- [ ] No debug output in production code
- [ ] No hardcoded dev/test values
- [ ] All feature flags set to production values
- [ ] Error handling covers all critical paths
- [ ] Crash reporting integrated and verified
### Security
- [ ] No exposed API keys or credentials in source
- [ ] Save data encrypted
- [ ] Network communication secured (TLS/DTLS)
- [ ] Anti-cheat measures active (if multiplayer)
- [ ] Input validation on all server endpoints (if multiplayer)
- [ ] Privacy policy compliance verified
---
## 2. Content Readiness
### Assets
- [ ] All placeholder art replaced with final assets
- [ ] All placeholder audio replaced with final audio
- [ ] Audio mix finalized and approved by audio director
- [ ] All VFX polished and performance-verified
- [ ] No missing or broken asset references
- [ ] Asset naming conventions enforced
### Text and Localization
- [ ] All player-facing text proofread
- [ ] No hardcoded strings (all externalized for localization)
- [ ] All supported languages translated and verified
- [ ] Text fits UI in all languages (text fitting pass complete)
- [ ] Font coverage verified for all supported languages
- [ ] Credits complete, accurate, and up to date
### Game Content
- [ ] All levels/maps playable from start to finish
- [ ] Tutorial flow complete and tested with new players
- [ ] All achievements/trophies implemented and tested
- [ ] Save/load works correctly for all game states
- [ ] Difficulty settings balanced and tested
- [ ] End-game/credits sequence complete
---
## 3. Quality Assurance
### Testing
- [ ] Full regression test suite passed
- [ ] Zero S1 (Critical) bugs open
- [ ] Zero S2 (Major) bugs open (or documented exceptions)
- [ ] Soak test passed (8+ hours continuous play)
- [ ] Multiplayer stress test passed (if applicable)
- [ ] All critical user paths tested on every platform
- [ ] Edge cases tested (full storage, no network, suspend/resume)
### Platform Certification
- [ ] PC: Steam/Epic/GOG SDK requirements met
- [ ] Console: TRC/TCR/Lotcheck submission prepared
- [ ] Mobile: App Store/Play Store guidelines compliant
- [ ] Accessibility: minimum standards met (remapping, text scaling, colorblind)
- [ ] Age ratings obtained (ESRB, PEGI, regional)
### Performance
- [ ] Target FPS met on minimum spec hardware
- [ ] Load times within budget on all platforms
- [ ] Memory usage within budget on all platforms
- [ ] Network bandwidth within targets (if multiplayer)
- [ ] No frame hitches in critical gameplay moments
---
## 4. Store and Distribution
### Store Pages
- [ ] Store page copy finalized and proofread
- [ ] Screenshots current and per-platform resolution
- [ ] Trailers current and approved
- [ ] Key art and capsule images finalized
- [ ] System requirements accurate (PC)
- [ ] Pricing configured for all regions
- [ ] Pre-purchase/wishlist campaigns active (if applicable)
### Legal
- [ ] EULA finalized and approved by legal
- [ ] Privacy policy published and linked
- [ ] Third-party license attributions complete
- [ ] Music/audio licensing verified
- [ ] Trademark/IP clearance confirmed
- [ ] GDPR/CCPA compliance verified (data collection, consent, deletion)
---
## 5. Infrastructure
### Servers (if multiplayer/online)
- [ ] Production servers provisioned and load-tested
- [ ] Auto-scaling configured and tested
- [ ] Database backups configured
- [ ] CDN configured for content delivery
- [ ] DDoS protection active
- [ ] Monitoring and alerting configured
### Analytics and Monitoring
- [ ] Analytics pipeline verified and receiving data
- [ ] Crash reporting active and dashboard accessible
- [ ] Server monitoring dashboards live
- [ ] Key metrics tracked: DAU, session length, retention, crashes
- [ ] Alerts configured for critical thresholds
---
## 6. Community and Marketing
### Community Readiness
- [ ] Community guidelines published
- [ ] Moderation team briefed and tools ready
- [ ] Discord/forum/social channels set up
- [ ] FAQ and known issues page prepared
- [ ] Support email/ticketing system active
### Marketing
- [ ] Launch trailer published
- [ ] Press/influencer review keys distributed
- [ ] Social media launch posts scheduled
- [ ] Launch day blog post/dev update drafted
- [ ] Patch notes for launch version published
---
## 7. Operations
### Team Readiness
- [ ] On-call schedule set for first 72 hours post-launch
- [ ] Incident response playbook reviewed by team
- [ ] Rollback plan documented and tested
- [ ] Hotfix pipeline tested (can ship emergency fix within 4 hours)
- [ ] Communication plan for launch issues (who posts, where, how fast)
### Day-One Plan
- [ ] Day-one patch prepared (if needed)
- [ ] Server unlock/go-live procedure documented
- [ ] Launch monitoring dashboard bookmarked by all leads
- [ ] War room/channel established for launch day
---
## Go / No-Go Decision
**Overall Status**: [READY / NOT READY / CONDITIONAL]
### Blocking Items
[List any items that must be resolved before launch]
### Conditional Items
[List items that have documented workarounds or accepted risk]
### Sign-Offs Required
- [ ] Creative Director — Content and experience quality
- [ ] Technical Director — Technical health and stability
- [ ] QA Lead — Quality and test coverage
- [ ] Producer — Schedule and overall readiness
- [ ] Release Manager — Build and deployment readiness
Present the completed checklist and summary to the user (total items, blocking items count, conditional items count, departments with incomplete sections).
If not in dry-run mode, ask: "May I write this to production/releases/launch-checklist-[date].md?"
If yes, write the file, creating directories as needed.
/gate-check to get a formal PASS/CONCERNS/FAIL verdict before launch./team-release.