/team-release

name: team-release
description: "Orchestrate the release team: coordinates release-manager, qa-lead, devops-engineer, and producer to execute a release from candidate to deployment."
argument-hint: "[version number or 'next'] [--review full|lean|solo]"
user-invocable: true
allowed-tools: Read, Glob, Grep, Write, Edit, Bash, Task, AskUserQuestion, TodoWrite
model: sonnet

**Argument check:** If no version number is provided: 1. Read `production/session-state/active.md` and the most recent file in `production/milestones/` (if they exist) to infer the target version. 2. If a version is found: report "No version argument provided — inferred [version] from milestone data. Proceeding." Then confirm with `AskUserQuestion`: "Releasing [version]. Is this correct?" 3. If no version is discoverable: use `AskUserQuestion` to ask "What version number should be released? (e.g., v1.0.0)" and wait for user input before proceeding. Do NOT default to a hardcoded version string.

When this skill is invoked, orchestrate the release team through a structured pipeline.

**Decision Points:** At each phase transition, use `AskUserQuestion` to present the user with the subagent's proposals as selectable options. Write the agent's full analysis in conversation, then capture the decision with concise labels. The user must approve before moving to the next phase.

Phase 0: Resolve Review Mode

1. If `--review [mode]` was passed as an argument, use that mode. 2. Else read `production/review-mode.txt` — use whatever is written there. 3. Else default to `lean`.

Modes:

• `full` — spawn all director and lead gates as described
• `lean` — skip director gates unless they are PHASE-GATE type (CD-PHASE-GATE, TD-PHASE-GATE, PR-PHASE-GATE, AD-PHASE-GATE)
• `solo` — skip all director gate spawning entirely; run the skill without any agent gates

Store the resolved mode for use in all subsequent phases.

Team Composition

• **release-manager** — Release branch, versioning, changelog, deployment
• **qa-lead** — Test sign-off, regression suite, release quality gate
• **devops-engineer** — Build pipeline, artifacts, deployment automation
• **security-engineer** — Pre-release security audit (invoke if game has online/multiplayer features or player data)
• **analytics-engineer** — Verify telemetry events fire correctly and dashboards are live
• **community-manager** — Patch notes, launch announcement, player-facing messaging
• **producer** — Go/no-go decision, stakeholder communication, scheduling

How to Delegate

Use the Task tool to spawn each team member as a subagent:

• `subagent_type: release-manager` — Release branch, versioning, changelog, deployment
• `subagent_type: qa-lead` — Test sign-off, regression suite, release quality gate
• `subagent_type: devops-engineer` — Build pipeline, artifacts, deployment automation
• `subagent_type: security-engineer` — Security audit for online/multiplayer/data features
• `subagent_type: analytics-engineer` — Telemetry event verification and dashboard readiness
• `subagent_type: community-manager` — Patch notes and launch communication
• `subagent_type: producer` — Go/no-go decision, stakeholder communication
• `subagent_type: network-programmer` — Netcode stability sign-off (invoke if game has multiplayer)

Always provide full context in each agent's prompt (version number, milestone status, known issues). Launch independent agents in parallel where the pipeline allows it (e.g., Phase 3 agents can run simultaneously).

Pipeline

Phase 1: Release Planning

Delegate to **producer**:

• Confirm all milestone acceptance criteria are met
• Identify any scope items deferred from this release
• Set the target release date and communicate to team
• Output: release authorization with scope confirmation

Phase 2: Release Candidate

Delegate to **release-manager**:

• Cut release branch from the agreed commit
• Bump version numbers in all relevant files
• Generate the release checklist using `/release-checklist`
• Freeze the branch — no feature changes, bug fixes only
• Output: release branch name and checklist

Phase 3: Quality Gate (parallel)

Delegate in parallel:

• **qa-lead**: Execute full regression test suite. Test all critical paths. Verify no S1/S2 bugs. Sign off on quality.
• **devops-engineer**: Build release artifacts for all target platforms. Verify builds are clean and reproducible. Run automated tests in CI.
• **security-engineer** *(if game has online features, multiplayer, or player data)*: Conduct pre-release security audit. Review authentication, anti-cheat, data privacy compliance. Sign off on security posture.
• **network-programmer** *(if game has multiplayer)*: Sign off on netcode stability. Verify lag compensation, reconnect handling, and bandwidth usage under load.

Phase 4: Localization, Performance, and Analytics

Delegate (can run in parallel with Phase 3 if resources available):

• Verify all strings are translated (delegate to **localization-lead** if available)
• Run performance benchmarks against targets (delegate to **performance-analyst** if available)
• **analytics-engineer**: Verify all telemetry events fire correctly on release build. Confirm dashboards are receiving data. Check that critical funnels (onboarding, progression, monetization if applicable) are instrumented.
• Output: localization, performance, and analytics sign-off

Phase 5: Go/No-Go

Delegate to **producer**:

• Collect sign-off from: qa-lead, release-manager, devops-engineer, security-engineer (if spawned in Phase 3), network-programmer (if spawned in Phase 3), and technical-director
• Evaluate any open issues — are they blocking or can they ship?
• Make the go/no-go call
• Output: release decision with rationale

**If producer declares NO-GO:**

• Surface the decision immediately: "PRODUCER: NO-GO — [rationale, e.g., S1 bug found in Phase 3]."
• Use `AskUserQuestion` with options:
• Fix the blocker and re-run the affected phase
• Defer the release to a later date