/game-cert-review

/game-cert-review

The Arbiter runs the ratings and platform-certification gate before any store submission. It inventories shippable content, maps it through IARC to the participating boards (ESRB / PEGI / USK / ClassInd / GRAC), checks feasibility of the target rating, builds a per-platform certification checklist, runs the loot-box jurisdiction check if monetized, and ends with a submission HITL. (Japan's CERO and Australia's ACB are separate, non-IARC submissions — tracked on their own.) IP, licensed-engine terms, and age-rating law that The Arbiter cannot resolve alone escalate to legal-compliance (Senate) via HANDOFF. Uses the game-cert-and-compliance skill.

Steps

1. Content inventory — The Arbiter catalogs rateable content (violence, language, sexual content, gambling/simulated gambling, UGC, data collection).
2. IARC map — map the inventory through the IARC questionnaire to the participating boards (ESRB / PEGI / USK / ClassInd / GRAC). Note CERO (Japan) / ACB (Australia) as separate submissions. Fire esrb-pegi-iarc-rating (owner: The Arbiter, HITL).
3. Target-rating feasibility — compare the IARC result to --target-rating; flag any content that would breach it and route remediation back to the owning design head.
4. Per-platform cert — for each of --platforms, build the cert checklist using each platform's own program: Sony TRC, Microsoft XR/XGSP, Nintendo Lotcheck, Steamworks (+ Deck-Verified), Apple/Google review. (Note: "TRC" is Sony-specific — do not call Nintendo's process a TRC; Nintendo uses Lotcheck.) Delegate cert-code remediation to engineering (game-cert-team). Fire platform-cert-readiness (owner: The Arbiter, HITL; pipeline-internal cert stage).
5. Loot-box jurisdiction — if --monetized or any randomized reward, fire loot-box-jurisdiction with per-region disclosure/odds requirements (NL, BE, JP/CERO, etc.).
6. Escalate — emit HANDOFF to legal-compliance for IP clearance, licensed-engine terms, age-rating law, or UGC liability beyond The Arbiter's authority.
7. HITL submission — emit HITL_REQUEST for the human submission decision; on approval write the cert DECISION_RECORD and eights.memory.add(domain="gaming") (record platform gotchas for replay).

Example

/game-cert-review "Hollow King v1.0" --platforms PS5,Switch,PC --target-rating T --monetized

The Arbiter inventories content, IARC returns PEGI 16 / ESRB T, Nintendo Lotcheck flags a missing caption option (remediation → game-cert-team), loot-box-jurisdiction requires odds disclosure, a licensing question escalates to legal via HANDOFF, and submission pauses on a HITL. (A Japan release would need a separate CERO submission.)

Delegation

Cert-code remediation → engineering (DEV_TASK, game-cert-team). IP/law → legal-compliance (Senate) via HANDOFF. The Arbiter authors the content inventory, IARC map, TRC checklists, and DECISION_RECORD. Fires esrb-pegi-iarc-rating + platform-cert-readiness (and loot-box-jurisdiction when monetized).