Developers and publishers champion the need for thorough design documents at every stage of the development cycle, but it all counts for nothing if the players don't want to, well, play!
Now a near-essential part of the modern games-as-a-service approach, the soft launch process provides game creators with actionable data based on the responses of an engaged and often well-informed audience. Somewhere between beta and live status, a soft launch gives a window for feedback, revisions, and improvements to produce the most polished end product at the time of release.