Delivering a great gaming experience requires more than simply launching a game and hoping it works everywhere. A slot game that runs flawlessly on a high-end smartphone in London might stutter and lag on a budget Android device in Lagos. When games fail to load, betting apps crash mid-wager, or lag disrupts a jackpot spin—players leave, resulting in lost revenue and poor retention rates.
Every combination of device, operating system, screen size, and network condition creates a potential point of failure. This challenge becomes even more critical in emerging markets, where lower-end devices and slower networks are common. Traditional in-house testing—with its limited device coverage and artificial test environments—often fails to replicate real-world conditions.
So what’s the solution?
The crowdsourced approach offers compatibility testing solutions that leverage real players, real devices, and real market conditions. This article explores the how crowdsourced compatibility testing in iGaming addresses challenges across devices, platforms, and systems, and how TESTA’s comprehensive approach identifies and resolves these issues to boost player retention.
- Why compatibility issues hurt iGaming brands
- The growing complexity of iGaming ecosystems
- How compatibility testing prevents these issues
- Key compatibility factors in iGaming
- Challenges of traditional compatibility testing
- How TESTA Qrowd ensures comprehensive testing
- TESTA’s iGaming compatibility testing process
- Real-world application and success stories
- Conclusion
Why compatibility issues hurt iGaming brands
Players expect seamless, uninterrupted experiences, and they have zero tolerance for anything less. In an industry where every click, spin, and bet matters, even the smallest glitch can drive users away. Whether it’s misaligned buttons, slow load times, or an unresponsive game mechanic, frustration builds fast. When players leave, they don’t simply abandon the platform; they switch to competitors.
But the damage does not end there. Poor compatibility leads to negative critiques, social media complaints, and public backlash. A single unpleasant encounter could spark a viral post, undermining trust and discouraging new gamers. In a highly competitive market with higher player acquisition costs, iGaming brands must not lose customers due to avoidable technical flaws.

Other than reputation, revenue takes a direct hit. If a game breaks in the middle of a wager, payments fail to process, or UI elements don’t work properly, players will cash out and move on. They won’t wait around for fixes. This has a detrimental effect on short-term profitability, and also lowers long-term player loyalty, making retention efforts much more difficult.
Business risks of unresolved compatibility issues
Unresolved compatibility issues come at a high cost. Post-launch fixes drain development resources, overwhelm customer support, and frustrate players. Every technical failure means lost revenue and increased churn.
Beyond immediate expenses, reputational damage has lasting consequences. Negative reviews drive players to competitors, raising acquisition costs and significantly reducing investor confidence. Affiliate partners grow hesitant to promote platforms with known issues, and this limits growth potential.
Operational inefficiencies intensify the strain. Technical debt slows future releases, and support workforce deals with more complaints, resulting in longer response times and lower player retention. Instead of focusing on creative thinking, businesses are stuck resolving avoidable issues.
Compatibility troubles reduce profitability, hinder growth, and undermine brand credibility. Proactive compatibility testing ensures consistent performance across devices, networks, and markets before problems impact the bottom line.

Don’t risk it! Test for compatibility, iterate… and lead in emerging markets
Loss of player trust and loyalty
Player trust is paramount in iGaming. Compatibility concerns harm trust by disrupting the user experience. A slow game, frozen screen, or misaligned button indicates unreliability. For example, if a betting platform crashes during a critical live event or displays outdated odds owing to a technical oversight, players are likely to be skeptical about the site’s overall integrity.
Frequent issues compromise loyalty, prompting players to shift to more reliable competitors. Without trust, retention decreases and churn increases. Negative experiences posted on social media further harm the brand, making it costly to replace lost players.
Providing consistent performance across all devices is critical to preserving trust, loyalty, and long-term success in the competitive iGaming industry.
The impact of negative reviews on player acquisition
A single poor review could damage your chances of attracting new players. Complaints spread quickly, especially through social media, and unresolved compatibility issues often fuel this negative feedback.

For example, consider this review: “I tried playing the Blackjack game on my phone, but the app kept crashing, and I lost my progress. I’ll never use this site again. What a terrible experience!” This sort of negative feedback highlights a specific technical glitch with a popular game, creating an impression of unreliability.
Poor reviews about technical issues deter new gamers who seek consistency. They will choose competitors who provide smoother, more reliable experiences. The long-term consequences include a damaged brand reputation and missed possibilities for growth. In an industry where trust is critical, overlooking compatibility concerns can have an extensive effect on customer acquisition.
The growing complexity of iGaming ecosystems
iGaming has progressed from a desktop-only experience to a multi-platform ecosystem. Players now interact on smartphones, tablets, desktops, and smart TVs, all with different operating systems, screen sizes, and network conditions. This expansion significantly increases the testing complexity.
Each gadget brings unique obstacles. A game that performs great on an iPhone may not run properly on an Android phone or a desktop. Differences in processing power and operating systems add extra levels of complexity.
Network conditions make the situation even more complicated. While players in developed regions may use high-speed Wi-Fi, those in emerging markets often depend on mobile data with varying speed and reliability. A game that performs perfectly over Wi-Fi might struggle on slower mobile networks, resulting in delays or crashes.
Even minor compatibility concerns can result in significant financial implications. Bugs on less popular devices or networks can lead to negative feedback, lower engagement, and revenue loss. As the ecosystem expands, testing methodologies must evolve to ensure a consistent user experience across all devices, operating systems, and network environments.
How device and network fragmentation impacts testing
As mobile-first gaming gains popularity, players can access games on a wide range of devices and platforms. The testing landscape is becoming more complex. It must encompass everything from high-end smartphones to older models, and from stable Wi-Fi networks to mobile data connections.

Older devices and lower-end models are often overlooked during testing. While a game may run well on the latest iPhone, it may not work properly on older handsets. Without comprehensive testing, iGaming businesses risk losing a major portion of their player base.
Network conditions add an additional layer of complexity. Players with fast Wi-Fi may have a smoother experience, while those with slower mobile data connections might experience delays or disruptions. Ignoring these aspects could lead to frustration and affect retention.
To offer an excellent experience, compatibility testing requires covering a wide range of devices and network conditions. This is extremely important for maintaining player satisfaction and avoiding dissatisfaction.
The cost of overlooking less popular devices and networks
While high-end devices and fast networks dominate the industry, a huge number of players continue to use older devices with slower internet connections. In fact, a sizable proportion of iGaming players are from underserved regions. Any technical issues can result in unsatisfactory experiences and high abandonment rates.
Game providers often fail to optimize the game architecture to cater various devices and networks, resulting in poor performance. This negligence might alienate players who feel ignored, pushing them to competition.
Comprehensive compatibility testing for all devices and network circumstances protects against these threats. It provides a consistent experience for all players, irrespective of platform, and helps maintain a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving iGaming market.
How compatibility testing prevents these issues
Compatibility testing extends beyond ensuring a game works. It optimizes game performance and accessibility across a variety of devices, browsers, and network configurations. These are the most important aspects in guaranteeing player satisfaction and retention. A proactive approach is essential for iGaming providers. Early testing helps to uncover potential difficulties, avoiding costly adjustments after launch. Compatibility testing is critical for ensuring seamless gameplay on different devices, as well as minimizing the impact of unstable networks.
This testing is also necessary for market expansion. Each region may have its own set of regulatory guidelines, such as local payment gateways or game restrictions. Compatibility testing ensures that games meet these criteria, avoiding legal issues and giving providers a competitive advantage. It also allows games to reach a larger audience, ensuring that they resonate with gamers from different backgrounds.
Incorporating crowdsourced testing further improves the overall process. By leveraging a global network of testers, providers can evaluate game performance on real-world devices and networks. This enables providers to provide a more realistic, region-specific experience while also improving player retention. Ultimately, compatibility testing fosters trust, improves the gaming experience, and promotes long-term growth.
Localized compatibility testing for global success
To thrive in the global iGaming market, businesses must ensure their games run properly across multiple regional devices and networks. Localized compatibility testing is the only way to tailor the gaming experience to the unique needs of each region. This strategy takes into account specific elements such as varied device preferences, operating systems, and network conditions, resulting in a smooth experience for players.
Different locations face unique issues, and localized testing is the best way to deal with them. Players in mobile-first markets often use budget smartphones with limited processing power. Games that are not properly optimized might experience lag or crashes, which can frustrate players. Similarly, in places with unreliable or slow networks, games must be designed to handle low bandwidth, minimizing disruptions and providing a seamless experience. Localization testing must be conducted to account for regional variations and ensure optimal performance.
Localized testing takes into account local regulations, operating system dominance, and cultural preferences. This is the only way to ensure compatibility with the devices, systems, and payment methods popular in each market. By implementing this targeted approach, iGaming operators may broaden their market reach, boost player retention, and promote long-term growth in a competitive global market.
Long-term cost savings of proactive compatibility testing
Proactive compatibility testing reduces the cost of post-launch repairs while also protecting your brand’s reputation. Identifying problems early reduces the need for expensive interventions later, saving time and resources. It also reduces the customer support burden that arises when problems go unaddressed.
By addressing compatibility issues early on, iGaming providers protect their bottom line. Without proactive testing, unexpected flaws after launch can escalate operational costs and damage player trust. Early-stage testing prevents these setbacks, resulting in smoother, speedier launches with lower recurring costs.
This approach improves ROI by reducing risks, increasing player engagement, and ensuring a stable, profitable game launch. Investing in compatibility testing upfront leads to long-term savings, improved market performance, and a more committed player base.
Key compatibility factors in iGaming
For iGaming providers, ensuring a flawless and engaging gaming experience across all platforms hinges on rigorous compatibility testing. The primary components include:

- Device compatibility: A game must perform seamlessly across a wide range of devices, from high-end smartphones to lower-end models. If the game doesn’t run smoothly on all devices, players will abandon it quickly.
- Operating system compatibility: Differences in functionality on iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS can cause inconsistencies in gameplay. Ensuring smooth performance across all major operating systems prevents frustration and ensures consistent experiences.
- Browser compatibility: Testing a game on browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge ensures it loads properly and performs optimally. Without this, players may face issues like slow load times or broken UI elements, which directly impact player retention.
- Network compatibility: In iGaming, performance under varying network conditions, whether Wi-Fi, 4G, 5G, or fluctuating speeds can make or break the experience. Compatibility testing ensures smooth gameplay even in less-than-ideal network conditions, enhancing player satisfaction.
- Third-party systems: Integration with payment systems, loyalty programs, and other third-party services is vital for a seamless experience. Incompatibility in these systems can lead to frustrating delays, payment failures, and ultimately, lost players.
Ensuring cross-platform functionality
In iGaming, users expect flawless experiences regardless of the platform they use. Cross-platform functionality ensures that your game runs smoothly on all supported devices and operating systems. Compatibility testing is vital for this process, as even minor disparities in performance can lead to a bad player experience.
For example, a slot game that functions smoothly on Chrome may experience difficulties in Safari, causing players to abandon the game. Similarly, a sportsbook app may load swiftly on iOS but crash on specific Android devices. Such shortcomings could deter potential players, costing you money and harming your reputation. Ensuring cross-platform compatibility is critical to keeping players engaged and loyal.
To avoid these pitfalls, comprehensive compatibility testing examines how your game performs across several browsers, operating systems, and devices. By proactively identifying and fixing issues before launch, iGaming providers can ensure a smooth and consistent experience for all players, regardless of platform. This level of detail fosters confidence, boosts user satisfaction, and ultimately leads to higher retention rates.
Seamless integration with third-party systems
In the iGaming industry, third-party systems are critical to facilitating and enhancing all facets of player experience. These include payment gateways, identity verification systems, analytics platforms, and customer service. To ensure a consistent gaming experience, these additional systems must integrate seamlessly with the core game environment, regardless of the player’s device, operating system, or browser.
Compatibility testing ensures that these integrations function seamlessly across all scenarios. Payment gateways, for example, must handle transactions quickly and securely, while identity verification systems must function seamlessly across multiple regions. A glitch in any of these systems can disrupt gaming, causing frustration and a loss of trust. Compatibility testing ensures that these systems communicate successfully with your game, providing a consistent and reliable experience for the player.
Successful integration not only improves usability, but it also builds player trust, which is essential for long-term engagement. When all components of the iGaming platform perform seamlessly, players feel comfortable and valued, which drives retention. With extensive compatibility testing, iGaming providers can provide a seamless experience across all devices and network conditions, ensuring a competitive advantage in a crowded market. Learn more about how seamless integrations can enhance your iGaming platform by checking TESTA’s partner integration solutions.
Enhancing player satisfaction through robust compatibility standards
In iGaming, player satisfaction relies on seamless performance across devices, operating systems, and browsers. Compatibility testing guarantees that games function smoothly on both high-end and low-end devices, reducing UI distortions, lag, and crashes that can frustrate players.
Key technical metrics such as load times, frame rate stability, and resource efficiency are critical. Testing these elements enables optimal performance in a variety of network circumstances, ranging from fluctuating 4G to slow Wi-Fi connections. Moreover, determining screen resolutions, aspect ratios, and device-specific touch inputs ensures a consistent experience regardless of the player’s device.
Challenges of traditional compatibility testing
Traditional in-house compatibility testing is expensive and often slow, resulting in wasted opportunities for early detection of crucial issues. Many iGaming providers continue to use obsolete methods that cannot keep up with the constantly evolving technological landscape. These methods of testing are typically limited by hardware and software constraints, therefore they often fail to replicate real-world user experiences.

In-house testing typically employs a limited set of devices and networks, leaving substantial gaps in performance evaluation. As a result, providers might overlook critical flaws that are only visible on less common or region-specific devices, browsers, or network conditions. This lack of comprehensive coverage can lead to game crashes, slow loading times, and distorted user interfaces, frustrating players and harming the brand’s reputation.
Another issue is cost. Maintaining an in-house testing infrastructure requires large investments in both technology and manpower. With continuously changing technical requirements, testing methodologies can become ineffective, resulting in inefficiencies. In today’s competitive iGaming market, using traditional methods is no longer enough to meet player expectations or maintain game reliability across different platforms.
Limited device and OS coverage
Internal QA teams are struggling to test every possible device-OS combination in today’s diverse market. Even with dedicated test facilities, the scope remains limited. New devices are regularly launched, each with its own configuration and operating system, making it practically difficult to cover all possibilities. As a result, performance issues on less common devices or outdated operating systems sometimes go undetected.
Emerging markets worsen this gap. With new models entering the market and frequent OS updates, in-house testing is slowly falling behind. This poses a big risk: users utilizing newer or less popular devices might run across bugs, crashes, or slowness that degrade their entire experience.
To stay competitive, iGaming providers need a scalable testing approach. Relying only on in-house teams exposes providers to potential reputational issues. A more extensive, more dynamic testing technique that takes into account global device diversity and OS variances results in smoother performance and better player retention.
Inability to simulate real-world network conditions
Most in-house testing takes place in controlled environments with reliable internet connections, which rarely reflect real player experiences. In reality, players encounter latency spikes that affect game responsiveness, weak mobile networks that cause transaction failures, and packet loss that affects live dealer interactions. Even in developed regions, 5G network rollouts pose irregularities, with some devices unexpectedly switching between 5G, 4G, and Wi-Fi, compromising game stability.
Moreover, network congestion in urban areas and bandwidth limitations in emerging markets present performance issues that are nearly impossible to mimic in a lab setting. As iGaming platforms rely more on edge computing to minimize latency, compatibility difficulties arise when data processing occurs closer to the player but varies across network infrastructures. Without real-world testing across a variety of network environments, providers risk launching games that fail in actual player scenarios, resulting in frustration, dropped sessions, and revenue loss.
High costs and extended timelines
Setting up and maintaining an in-house testing lab requires a significant capital investment. This is required not just for the purchase of hundreds of test equipment, but also for frequent software updates, infrastructure upkeep, and staff training. Due to the explosive expansion of hardware and operating systems, devices quickly become obsolete, resulting in ongoing reinvestment costs.
Manual in-house testing increases costs and slows release cycles. Each test scenario demands specialized resources, from environment setup to troubleshooting inconsistencies across platforms. As a result, game launches are delayed, reducing market agility and potentially losing income to competitors who iterate more quickly. In a sector where speed is critical, outdated testing methods create bottlenecks, making them unsustainable for modern iGaming providers aiming for global scalability.
Risk of post-launch failures
In-house testing often fails to mimic real-world user conditions, causing game-breaking bugs to sneak through and surface post-launch. These flaws disrupt gameplay and result in revenue leakage, particularly when critical issues affect payments, in-game transactions, or live dealer interactions.
Beyond immediate financial impact, frequent emergency patches and hotfixes introduce regression risks, where fixing one bug inadvertently breaks another feature. This creates technological debt, which raises long-term development costs and complicates future updates. Additionally, players experiencing patch fatigue by continuous updates may disengage, resulting in increased churn rates and lower player lifetime value.
To steer clear of this, rigorous compatibility testing must be shift-left, identifying difficulties early in development rather than reacting after launch.
How TESTA Qrowd ensures comprehensive testing
Traditional lab-based testing fails to replicate real-world gameplay conditions. TESTA Qrowd eliminates these blind spots by leveraging a global network of real testers using authentic devices, OS versions, and network environments. This approach uncovers compatibility issues that in-house teams often miss, ensuring greater game stability and user satisfaction.
Covering hundreds of device configurations and regional network conditions, Qrowd identifies UI distortions, browser inconsistencies, and network-induced performance issues. Unlike scripted tests, real users interact dynamically, exposing input delays, session persistence failures, and payment disruptions.
TESTA’s market-specific compatibility testing also ensures compliance with regional regulations, localization accuracy, and mobile network limitations. This level of real-world precision cannot be achieved by internal testing alone, making TESTA Qrowd critical for iGaming providers seeking seamless cross-platform performance.
Real-world testing vs. simulated environments
Simulated lab environments provide controlled conditions, but they fail to reflect the actual world complexity. They miss device-specific memory leaks, GPU rendering inconsistencies, and adaptive bitrate streaming failures, all of which can have a significant impact on gameplay. These oversights often end up in performance issues that appear only after launch, risking costlier fixes and player churn.
Real-world testing exposes live network constraints, differing device processing power, and session persistence issues. All of which have a direct impact on gaming fluidity. It reveals packet loss during multiplayer interactions, input lag under heavy server loads, and performance degradation on older hardware, providing a more accurate account of player experiences.
Additionally, it tackles real-time rendering inefficiencies, API call failures under unstable connections, and adaptive UI misalignment across screen resolutions to avoid grave mistakes. This approach ensures optimal performance across a variety of situations, eliminating post-launch patches and maximizing player retention.
Why TESTA’s approach works for iGaming providers
For iGaming providers, enabling flawless gameplay across a wide range of devices and regions is non-negotiable. TESTA’s crowdsourced testing across global markets provides a distinctive advantage by testing in real-world user scenarios rather than artificial, controlled labs. This ensures thorough coverage, detecting crucial issues including device-specific crashes, network latency, and UI inconsistencies that in-house methods typically miss.
What truly differentiates TESTA is its capacity to accelerate bug detection and resolution. With a scalable testing model, TESTA can adjust to the size and scope of a project, allowing providers to remain agile in a fast-paced industry. With a diverse pool of testers using real devices, TESTA ensures that insights match real player experiences, regardless of the target market. This leads to optimal performance from day one, ensuring smoother game launches and reducing the risk of post-launch fixes, which ultimately leads to higher player satisfaction and long-term success.
How TESTA conducts compatibility testing
In iGaming, ensuring seamless performance across devices, browsers, and networks is critical for maintaining player satisfaction. While traditional testing methods may catch some issues, they often fail to capture the nuances of real-world player experiences. This is where TESTA’s crowdsourced approach stands out.
Through Qrowd, our global network of vetted iGaming testers, we connect you with real users who live and breathe the gaming experience. These testers not only provide valuable feedback on software, hardware, and network performance but also bring domain expertise in iGaming. This leads to more accurate insights, ensuring your game performs well across different real-world environments.
Scenarios to consider
Consider a game that functions perfectly on high-end devices like Xiaomi or Samsung smartphones, but encounters problems when played on laptops. Or imagine how an iOS update could impact gameplay. Traditional testing often misses such issues, but TESTA’s crowdtesting uncovers them by using actual devices and networks.
Compatibility testing ensures that your game performs across a range of devices, software versions, and browsers. This helps deliver a consistent, high-quality experience for players, regardless of their equipment.
TESTA’s iGaming compatibility testing process
Our structured approach to compatibility testing simulates real-world usage and gathers actionable feedback. Here’s how we execute it:
1. Scope definition and browser selection
We begin by outlining the testing scope and identifying the devices, operating systems, and browsers that are critical for your target market. This ensures we test the most relevant platforms, giving you comprehensive coverage.
2. Network performance analysis
Network conditions can significantly impact gameplay, especially in mobile environments. We test how your game performs under different network conditions, from 3G to 4G, and identify any delays or performance issues that arise from variable network speeds.
3. Real-world simulation and feedback collection
Qrowd testers use a wide range of devices, browsers, and network setups to simulate real-world usage. For example, testers might use a Xiaomi phone on a 3G network or a Samsung on 4G with Chrome. This approach uncovers issues like lags, glitches, or inconsistencies that would otherwise go unnoticed in lab tests. The real-world feedback we collect is invaluable in detecting hidden problems and ensuring the game runs smoothly for all players.
4. Issue rectification and re-testing
Once feedback is gathered, our team works closely with yours to prioritize and address the issues. After making adjustments, we conduct another round of testing to confirm that the fixes were effective and that the overall experience has improved.
5. Documentation and release
After testing is complete, our Service Delivery Manager compiles a comprehensive report detailing the testing process, issues identified, and solutions implemented. This ensures transparency and provides a foundation for future updates. Once everything is finalized, your game is ready for launch, with ongoing monitoring in place to maintain quality.
Real-world application and success stories
If your platform is facing compatibility challenges that are affecting user experience, TESTA can help you identify and resolve issues before they impact your players. Through our crowdsourced testing, we tap into a diverse network of real players who test in real environments, ensuring solutions are grounded in the actual experiences of your target audience.

In this section, we share success stories from India, Brazil, and South Africa, where TESTA’s crowdsourced testing helped providers optimize hardware compatibility, streamline payment processes, and enhance network performance. If you’re dealing with similar issues, learn how we’ve helped iGaming providers overcome these challenges and optimize their games with target market compatibility testing.
Unlocking smooth poker play low-end Android devices in India
A popular online poker app faced frequent crashes and glitches on low-end Android devices, which are commonly used in rural India. This issue led to a significant decline in player engagement, particularly in regions reliant on budget-friendly smartphones.
TESTA mobilized local testers across a wide range of Android devices, including older models, to replicate real-world conditions. The root cause was identified as high memory consumption and inefficient graphics rendering, which overloaded devices with limited processing power.
By optimizing graphics and memory usage for lower-end devices, the developers dramatically improved the app’s performance. As a result, crashes were significantly reduced, and the app’s functionality was vastly improved for users in rural India. Players shared their positive experiences in local online communities, resulting in a notable uptick in user sentiment and engagement.
Transforming payment frustrations into seamless transactions in Brazil
A global sports betting app faced consistent payment failures during checkout, particularly in Brazil, due to regional browser plugin incompatibilities. The issues created frustration for players, preventing successful transactions, and leading to negative experiences.
TESTA’s Brazilian testers, equipped with a range of local browsers and payment plugins, quickly pinpointed that a widely-used local payment gateway plugin was incompatible with the app. Collaborating with the Brazilian payment gateway provider, the development team addressed the compatibility issue and integrated popular alternative payment methods frequently used in Brazil.
The updates provided a much smoother transaction process, improving player satisfaction and drastically reducing payment-related frustrations. By ensuring compatibility with local payment systems, the app became more accessible, driving increased transactions and a better overall experience for Brazilian users.
Conquering connectivity challenges in South Africa
An iGaming casino app offering live dealer games was met with player complaints in rural South Africa. This accounted particularly from users on 3G networks who suffered from constant buffering and lag during streams. This connectivity issue led to a poor gaming experience, diminishing the app’s appeal in these regions.
TESTA engaged South African testers from various mobile network providers to replicate the real-world experience on slower 3G networks. The tests revealed that poor connectivity and slow speeds in rural areas were responsible for the buffering and lag.
To solve the issue, the app developers implemented adaptive streaming technology that adjusted video quality based on the available network bandwidth. They also worked with South African mobile network providers to optimize server connections. These changes greatly reduced buffering and improved the overall streaming quality, allowing players on slower networks to enjoy seamless gameplay.
Conclusion
Is your game truly ready for players worldwide? Without the right compatibility testing, even the best games can fall flat. Let TESTA’s crowdsourced compatibility testing safeguard your game’s success.
We’ll ensure your game performs flawlessly in real-world conditions, delivering the experience players seek. Let’s optimize performance across devices and networks to keep players engaged and your platform ahead of the curve.