Top failing XBOX certification tests

Most certification failures cluster around a small set of recurring problems. Addressing them before submission cuts your turnaround dramatically. The distribution below reflects the most recent Microsoft-published data for console and PC submissions.

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Console: top failing tests

Ranked by share of all failures in recent cert cycles:

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Guidance and best practices

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001-01 Title Stability

Titles must remain stable throughout test and not have any issues that block the title from being tested. Most stability failures come from:

• Crashes, hangs, or long loading screens when launching the title. See XR-001 for expected timings.
• Crashes during multiplayer activities (sending / receiving invites, matchmaking, joining).
• Crashes during general gameplay.
• Crash or hang during suspend / resume.
• Crash or hang from user input on all screens where input is accepted.
• Crash or hang when rapidly entering and backing out of game menus.

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003-02 Title Integrity

Titles must be functionally complete, testable, and meet XBOX console quality standards when submitted. Submissions must include all client code, submission artifacts, and DLC. Partner services must be available and properly configured. Packages must build cleanly with the current Submission Validator, and Submission Validator logs must be included. Common issues

• Game modes can’t be completed, preventing progression through the title.
• Leaderboards not populating.
• Input modes (controllers, keyboards) not working.
• Players getting into a state that prevents progression (unable to reload weapons, characters stuck or falling out of the world).

Guidance

• Make sure the game is functionally complete and testable.
• The game is free of major / game-breaking bugs.

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045-01 Respect User Privileges

Titles must respect every user privilege setting and display the system resolution UI when there is a conflict. See XR-045. Common issues

• Titles don’t respect privileges for both Child and Adult accounts.
• Titles don’t use the required APIs to display the system resolution UI.

Example failures

• Allowing a user to join or accept invitations to a multiplayer session when You can join multiplayer games is set to Block.
• Blocking join / accept correctly but failing to display the system resolution UI.

Guidance

• On XBOX: Settings > General > Online safety & family > Privacy & online safety > XBOX privacy.
• On PC: https://aka.ms/XboxPrivSettings.
• Verify every XR-045 privilege with both Child and Adult accounts.
• Child accounts are managed by a parent or guardian in Settings > Account > Family settings > Manage family members.

XUserCheckPrivilege determines whether a user has a privilege. XUserResolvePrivilegeWithUiAsync displays the required system resolution UI, including any explain or upsell UI when the user doesn’t have the privilege.

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064-02 Joining a Game Session from the Same Game

Verifies multiplayer joinability from the same game. When a user joins or accepts an invitation to a multiplayer experience from the same game, they must be brought into the multiplayer experience. Common issues

• Joining or accepting an invite to a multiplayer experience from the same game doesn’t bring the user into the experience.
• Joining or accepting an invite to a password-protected multiplayer experience from the same game doesn’t bring the user into the experience.

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055-01 Achievements

The most common failure is titles failing to unlock Achievements when the criteria have been met. Verify every Achievement unlocks when its criteria are met before submitting.

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124-01 Game Invitations

Games must allow players to send game invitations from within the game wherever joinable multiplayer sessions are supported, including where cross-network players are present. Password-protected joinable multiplayer experiences must also enable platform joins and allow in-game invitations. Common issues

• Title supports joinable multiplayer but doesn’t allow players to send game invitations for those experiences from within the game.
• Title supports password-protected joinable multiplayer but doesn’t allow in-game invitations for those experiences.

Guidance Verify every joinable multiplayer experience allows in-game invitations. Password-protected joinable multiplayer must also allow in-game invitations.

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015-01 User Communication

Titles must check the XBOX service for a user’s privacy and online-safety permissions and must not transmit user data or allow communication over XBOX when the user’s settings don’t allow it.

• On console: Settings > General > Online safety & family > Privacy & online safety > XBOX privacy.
• On PC: https://aka.ms/XboxPrivSettings.

Common issues

• When a user blocks another user, the title doesn’t block all communication from the blocked user.
• The user can communicate with voice / text over XBOX when Others can communicate with voice, text, or invites is set to Block.
• The user can communicate via voice / text outside of XBOX when the same privilege is Block.
• The title lets the user receive multiplayer invitations when Others can communicate with voice, text, or invites is set to Block.

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052-06 Cloud Storage: Roaming

Game-save progress must roam between like devices / platforms when the user is signed into XBOX services. Games sharing the same TitleID across generations of a platform must roam saves across those generations. Game save data must roam successfully between PC and Console devices when supported. Common issues

• Game saves can’t be downloaded on a second console on the same platform / generation (for example, XBOX Series S and Series X, or XBOX One and One S).
• For console games that share the same TitleID across generations (for example, XBOX One and Series X|S), saves don’t roam between the two.
• Saves in the cloud aren’t recognized on first launch and are overwritten on the second device without user interaction.
• Save data doesn’t roam successfully between PC and console when supported.

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052-05 Correct User Association

Titles must associate progress, saved state, preferences, achievements, and other rewards with the user who recorded that progress, chose those preferences, or earned those rewards. Titles must not save state for users who are no longer signed in, and must correctly handle situations where the primary user changes while the title is active, suspended, or terminated. Common issues

• Titles don’t correctly associate save data with an XBOX profile.
• Titles incorrectly associate user progress, saved state, preferences, achievements, or other awards after a user change.
• A new user’s save progress isn’t saved after a user change.
• A new user can alter a prior user’s save data, state, or profile after they have signed out.

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022-01 Official Naming Standards

The most common failures are titles that reference competing platforms in text or images. Ensure text and images comply with the terminology list and don’t reference competing platforms (for example, images of a competitor’s controller or button call-outs).

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001-02 Title Stability after Suspending

Titles must remain stable when suspended and resumed. Common issues

• Crash or hang when the title is suspended / resumed.
• Crash or hang when changing users while the title is suspended.
• Crash or hang when suspending while navigating menus.
• Crash or hang when suspending during an online match.

Guidance Suspend and resume the title in every menu, game mode, and gameplay scenario (online and offline). Perform user changes while the title is suspended.

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064-01 Joining a Game Session from Outside the Game

Verifies joinability from outside the game. When a user joins or accepts an invitation to a multiplayer experience from outside the game, they must be brought into the multiplayer experience. Verify joining while the title is terminated and suspended. Common issues

• Joining or accepting an invite from outside the game doesn’t bring the user into the experience.
• Joining or accepting an invite to a password-protected multiplayer experience from outside the game doesn’t bring the user into the experience.
• Joining a multiplayer experience while the title is terminated or suspended doesn’t bring the user into the experience.

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PC: top failing tests

Ranked by share of all failures in recent PC cert cycles:

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10.4.2 App Crash or Freeze (top PC failure)

The title crashes or hangs when launched or during gameplay. Test scenarios that catch it:

• Install the title from the Store (not just side-loaded from a dev sandbox — the two paths sometimes behave differently).
• Test multiple resolutions (windowed and full screen): 1366×768, 1440×900, 1080P, 1440P, 4K.
• Test random input on all screens.
• Rapidly enter and back out of game menus.
• Test with AMD, Intel, and Nvidia GPUs and current graphics drivers.

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PC-specific mistakes

• XR-018 UGC filtering not applied on PC — reuse the StringService API on PC just like on console.
• Sandbox not switched back to RETAIL before submission — packages tested in a dev sandbox can fail certification.
• Packaging issues from makepkg — missing dependencies, wrong content IDs, no Submission Validator log.
• Cross-network data usage — see XR-007 (PC); declare cross-network data flows in the privacy policy.

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Pre-submission checklist

Before submitting:

1. Run Submission Validator on the final package; resolve every failure.
2. Sweep XR-001 with an automated soak (8–12 hours through PLM cycles).
3. Run XR-074 by killing your network mid-multiplayer-match and observing reconnect behavior.
4. Spot-check XR-045 by signing in a Child account and confirming features gate correctly.
5. Verify XR-130 by testing on every supported console SKU.
6. Run accessibility (XR adjacent) checks via MGATS before final cert.

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See also

• XBOX Requirements
• Failure Mode Analysis
• Certification
• Pre-release testing