When is your game ready to ship? Well, when it is done you might answer. Obviously, your game will be released once it is finished and all the features are implemented. However, there are a few things you should consider before you declare your CryENGINE game ready for release.

Once your game is released and people are playing it, first impressions are created. It doesn't matter if it is a AAA game or a free mod for an already existing game. You can always patch and improve your game later, but once players dislike your game based on their first impression, it becomes very difficult to get them to change their minds again. This is why you should aim at releasing your game in the best possible state, as polished and free of bugs as possible.

This chapter will provide you with a lot of useful hints and best practices that will help you avoid the usual pitfalls, such as performance problems, shipping unnecessary files, or worst of all, shipping a broken game.