Gone Gold

[AriochIV]

Whatever that means in the age of digital delivery, Firaxis announced that Civ7 has "gone gold."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1881386264856772846

 

[Nikolai II]

Ready for action.

 

[LoveOldCiv2]

Yep, sounds like good old Release To Manufacturing but then, in fairness, reviewers do need to have the final build for some time to do a proper review so the time span might not be that crazy after all.

… and they now have plenty of time to work on the day zero bug fix package, right?!

 

[Riconatic]

This game is also available in traditional optical disc format. Some version needs to go there too.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

Whatever that means in the age of digital delivery, Firaxis announced that Civ7 has "gone gold."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1881386264856772846

Doesn't it mean that they've locked in the release version? Whatever work they do between now and release will be for the first patch.

 

[Nikolai II]

This game is also available in traditional optical disc format. Some version needs to go there too.

I don't think it is?

EDIT: Or perhaps it is for consoles? But then I bet there is an obligatory download of a lot of the data.

 

[Nikolai II]

Doesn't it mean that they've locked in the release version? Whatever work they do between now and release will be for the first patch.

Games always have a day 0 patch.

 

[Riconatic]

I don't think it is?

EDIT: Or perhaps it is for consoles? But then I bet there is an obligatory download of a lot of the data.

PS5 and xboxes. Standard and deluxe. Not founders.

 

[Nikolai II]

PS5 and xboxes. Standard and deluxe. Not founders.

Many games these days download almost all data from the internet even if they are on a Bluray, though.

 

[Cyon]

So no civ/leader reveals today. Will have to be a tight schedule if the want to have first look videos and posts for thev remaining civs and leaders before the 6th of February and also maybe a livstream to show off the last things from the modern age.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

So no civ/leader reveals today. Will have to be a tight schedule if the want to have first look videos and posts for thev remaining civs and leaders before the 6th of February and also maybe a livstream to show off the last things from the modern age.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are more typical than what we saw last week.

 

[Kwami]

Tuesdays and Thursdays are more typical than what we saw last week.

Today is also a federal holiday in the US.

 

[Hellenism Salesman]

Today is also a federal holiday in the US.

While also being another federally important day that might capture someone’s attention…

 

[Bonyduck Campersang]

What Does It Mean When a Game “Goes Gold”?

There are many unique terms in the games industry, and players are wondering what it means when a game has "gone gold".

gamerant.com

The term "gone gold" is shorthand for the gaming industry phrase "gold master". When a game enters this stage of development, it means that it has reached the point where it is finished and ready for release. Everything that the developers want to put into the game is in the most recent build. At this stage, the developers and publisher believe that the game is ready for the public.

 

[chaosprophet]

I guess it means they won't be working on any additions or balances for now, and only work on bug checking for a bit until at least release day and until they tackle any bigger issues that may arise

 

[chaosprophet]

What Does It Mean When a Game “Goes Gold”?

There are many unique terms in the games industry, and players are wondering what it means when a game has "gone gold".

gamerant.com

On AriochIV's point, it is true the term changed. As before it meant you finished bug checking too, and any other bug checking would be done after the game is out and players discover bugs the developers didn't. But nowadays, with the fact that whatever version you get you at leas will need to connect online the first time and check for a patch, developers keep working on bug checking all the way to release.

 

[civfanatic4sure]

We sure it’s not gold like a gold album, i.e. 500k copies sold?

 

[pokiehl]

This game is also available in traditional optical disc format. Some version needs to go there too.

And the various digital distribution platforms (Steam, Nintendo eshop, etc) have requirements relating to when the final version of the initial release must be uploaded as well.

 

[King of Prussia]

Different platforms have different requirements for when release/demo/patches have to be provided so they can be approved by said platforms. Steams is one of the easiest ones, where i believe all they do is hit play and see if the game launches. They are fairly quick on it too. Consoles from what i looked in the past are a little longer to get approved. Not sure how thorough they are.

Of course in the digital age, you dont have to worry about mass producing CDs and distributing them around the world.

but yea, they are going to be working on patches for launch day and hotfixes right after release.

 

[AriochIV]

We sure it’s not gold like a gold album, i.e. 500k copies sold?

"Gone gold" is a phrase still commonly used in software development to indicate that a software product is complete and ready to be released to the public. It refers to the "gold master" disk that was created for mass duplication, back when physical media were the main way to release a game.