CDGT study guide
CDGT · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certified Digital Game Tester (CDGT) is a vendor-neutral credential aimed at people who want to show they can test games systematically rather than just play them. It suits junior QA testers building a first formal skill baseline, career-changers moving from general software QA into games, and leads who want a shared vocabulary for their team. The CDGT study guide has 9 sections and about 2,560 words.
01Game Testing Fundamentals and the Software Development Life Cycle
This domain checks whether you can place testing correctly across a game's life cycle rather than treating it as a phase after code freeze. Expect questions on verification versus validation, test levels, milestone gates, and entry and exit criteria.
317 words, about 2 min02Test Design Techniques and Test Case Authoring
This domain tests how you select a small, defensible set of tests from a large input space, and how you write cases another tester can execute without asking you questions. Equivalence partitioning: choose one valid and one invalid value per class rather than every possible value.
306 words, about 2 min03Functional Testing of Gameplay Systems
This domain tests whether you can verify that gameplay systems produce correct, persistent, and observable outcomes across normal and edge conditions: combat, inventory, quests, progression, economy, UI, save and load, and AI. Define an oracle before testing: design document, accepted behavior, prior build, or platform requirement.
323 words, about 2 min04Platform Certification and Compliance Testing
This domain tests mandatory platform behaviors rather than your game's fun. Sony publishes TRC and TCR requirements, Microsoft publishes XR requirements, Nintendo runs Lotcheck, and mobile stores enforce Apple App Store Review Guidelines and Google Play policies.
291 words, about 1 min05Multiplayer, Network, and Online Services Testing
This domain tests networked play and service dependencies under realistic conditions: matchmaking, sessions, latency, packet loss, host migration, and backend services. Topologies include client-server, dedicated server, listen server, and peer-to-peer.
260 words, about 1 min06Performance, Stability, and Compatibility Testing
This domain tests whether the game meets frame-time, memory, load, thermal, and device-compatibility targets over time, not just during a short happy-path run. Frame metrics: average FPS hides stutter.
270 words, about 1 min07Localization and Accessibility Testing
This domain tests whether text, audio, input, and visuals work for players across languages, regions, and abilities. Localization: use string tables, avoid concatenation, allow for text expansion, verify font coverage, line breaking, right-to-left mirroring, dates, numbers, currency, and culturalization.
265 words, about 1 min08Defect Reporting, Tracking, and Triage
This domain tests whether you can write a defect that developers can reproduce and fix, and prioritize it correctly with the team. A report needs a concise title, build and version, platform, environment, preconditions, exact steps, expected versus actual behavior, reproducibility, severity, priority, and evidence such as video, logs, a dump, or a save file.
271 words, about 1 min09Test Tools, Automation, and Metrics
This domain tests whether you can choose tools and metrics that improve coverage and feedback speed rather than create maintenance drag. Tool categories: test management and traceability, defect tracking, automation frameworks, CI and CD, device farms, crash reporting, telemetry, performance profilers, and network simulators.
257 words, about 1 min