gold master
nounEtymology See master (“original document or recording”). They used to be prepared on gold-coloured recordable compact discs.
1
The finished version of a software program, which is sent for duplication onto physical media to be distributed.
- The gold master is the version of the game that will be shipped to stores—the end product, the finish line.2006, Phil Co, Level Design for Games, New Riders:
- Chances are good that the game you were developing will be played on one or more consoles; as a result, you will also have to submit the Gold Master to the console's manufacturer for approval as well.2013, Rich Newman, Cinematic Game Secrets for Creative Directors and Producers, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, page 52:
- Derived terms
- go gold