The short version: Accept a milestone only when the client can reproduce the build from controlled source and has the rights, credentials, documentation, and dependencies to continue.

The build launches. The menu works. The first level is playable. The milestone looks complete—until the studio disappears and nobody else can reproduce it.

An executable demonstrates output. A handover transfers capability.

What the client must receive

A production handover should identify and transfer, as applicable:

  • complete source and project files at a named revision;
  • version-control access and history;
  • engine, SDK, plugin, and tool versions;
  • build instructions from a clean environment;
  • signing, store, backend, analytics, and service ownership;
  • original editable art, audio, localization, and design sources;
  • third-party licenses and usage limits;
  • known defects, technical debt, and deployment steps.

Credentials should move through a secure process and be rotated. They do not belong in a chat transcript or source archive.

Reproduce, do not merely receive

Epic’s Unreal Engine documentation describes source control as the system used to manage change history and coordinate team work. It also notes that live multi-user editing is not a replacement for dedicated source control.

The acceptance test is therefore not “files arrived.” It is “a person outside the vendor’s machine can sync the agreed revision, follow the documented steps, and produce the expected build.”

Run that test before final payment, when the people who know the pipeline are still available.

Rights are part of the build

WIPO’s video-game guidance emphasizes contracts and intellectual-property ownership across code, art, sound, music, characters, tools, and licensed material. A technically complete archive can still be commercially unusable if ownership or license rights are missing.

Ask for an asset register showing source, creator, license, permitted platforms, attribution, and transfer status. “We found it online” is not provenance.

The spicy truth about demos

A beautiful demo can be the least transferable part of the project. It may depend on one developer’s local files, expired services, unlicensed placeholders, or undocumented manual steps. The more impressive the demo, the more important it is to prove reproducibility.

Sources and limits

Contract and IP requirements vary by jurisdiction. Obtain qualified legal advice for a real agreement.

Key takeaway

Do not accept only the thing that runs. Accept the source, rights, accounts, documentation, history, and reproducible process that let the project keep running without the original vendor.

game development studiohandoversource controlbuild pipeline