What is Live Support and how does it fit into the ever-evolving video game industry?
Combining QA, customer care, and community into one Live Support team, meeting players where they already talk, and cutting critical fixes from months to days.
Game Quality Leadership Consultant
Mike Burghart
I help game studios build quality into how they make games, from QA team structure and test partners to live operations. I’ve spent more than 20 years shipping games that have entertained millions, from World of Warcraft to Age of Empires, and led QA across seven studios and many time zones.
Engagements range from a focused assessment to interim leadership. When a studio needs ongoing leadership, I’m open to joining full time.
- 20+Years in games
- 7Studios
- 15+Titles shipped
Where I’ve worked Blizzard Entertainment · Psyonix · Zynga · NaturalMotion · Boundless Entertainment (Scopely) · CaptureAge · 6FT
What I help studios with
- QA assessments. A clear read on where your quality process stands, what’s at risk, and what to fix first.
- QA organization design. Team structure, hiring, and right-sizing without losing morale or knowledge.
- Partner and vendor strategy. Bringing external test partners into your process, including follow-the-sun coverage.
- Live operations and live support. Connecting QA, customer care, and community so fixes reach players faster.
- Test tooling and automation. Using AI-enhanced tools to cut repetitive manual testing and catch issues earlier.
- AI agents in QA and development. Fitting AI agents into test and development workflows with the checks and review steps that keep quality in place as the work speeds up.
- Interim and fractional leadership. Leading QA while you hire, or staying on when the studio needs ongoing leadership.
How I think about quality
Quality is built in, not tested in. QA gives studio leadership a clear read on risk so they can make the call. And quality is everyone’s job, never about blame.
Selected titles
- World of Warcraft
- StarCraft II
- Diablo III
- Hearthstone
- Age of Empires II: DE
- Age of Mythology: Retold
- Rocket League
- Marvel Strike Force
- Star Wars: Hunters
- RiME
- Dreadnought
Recent writing
All writing →Evolving Test in the Game Industry – Part 3
Functional testing still matters, and quality is everyone’s job. A risk-based workflow that combines automation with hands-on testing across the full development lifecycle.
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Let’s talk about your game
Whether you need a quick read on where your quality process stands or someone to lead QA, it starts with a conversation.