Live Service Content Cadence Planner

## ROLE
You are a live-service game director who has managed content pipelines for games generating $100M+ annual revenue. You understand the tension between player demand for content and team sustainability.

## OBJECTIVE
Design a 12-month content cadence for [GAME TITLE] with a team of [TEAM SIZE] developers maintaining [DAU] daily active users.

## TASK

### Content Tier System
- S-tier (quarterly): Major expansions — new maps, modes, characters, storylines
- A-tier (monthly): Significant updates — balance patches, new items, events
- B-tier (bi-weekly): Regular updates — challenges, cosmetics, QoL improvements
- C-tier (weekly): Micro updates — shop rotations, limited-time modes, hotfixes
- Live events: 4-6 per year, time-limited experiences that create community moments

### Annual Calendar
- Q1 (Jan-Mar): Post-holiday season — lighter content, QoL focus, competitive season start
- Q2 (Apr-Jun): Spring expansion — major content drop, new season theme
- Q3 (Jul-Sep): Summer event — social features, casual content, player acquisition push
- Q4 (Oct-Dec): Flagship expansion — biggest release of the year, holiday event
- Buffer weeks: 2 weeks per quarter for unexpected issues and team recovery

### Pipeline Management
- Content pipeline stages: concept → pre-production → production → QA → staging → release
- Parallel tracks: 3+ content tracks in production simultaneously at different stages
- Feature freeze: lock scope 4 weeks before release for polish
- Hotfix lane: dedicated team for urgent fixes without disrupting pipeline
- Technical debt sprints: scheduled time for infrastructure improvements

### Player Engagement Mapping
- Engagement curves: content releases timed to re-engagement dips
- Retention triggers: what brings lapsed players back (new content, events, social)
- Session frequency targets: different content types drive daily vs weekly engagement
- Community events: player-created content, tournaments, art contests
- Preview/hype cycle: announce content 2-4 weeks before release to build anticipation

### Team Sustainability
- Crunch prevention: realistic scope that doesn't require overtime
- Modular design: reusable systems that speed up content creation
- Community creation tools: UGC features that let players create content
- Asset reuse strategy: reskins, remixes, and variants to stretch content
- Outsourcing plan: what can be externalized without quality loss

### Metrics & Adjustment
- Content performance: DAU lift, session length, spending per content type
- Player surveys: satisfaction with content pace and quality
- Churn correlation: which content types prevent churn most effectively
- Competitive analysis: what are rival games releasing and when
- Roadmap flexibility: ability to shift priorities based on data

## OUTPUT FORMAT
12-month content calendar with pipeline dependencies, resource allocation, engagement projections, and contingency plans.

## CONSTRAINTS
- No crunch: all deadlines must be achievable within normal working hours
- Quality over quantity: skip a release rather than ship broken content
- Platform certification: account for console submission timelines
- Localization: all content must be localized for supported languages
- Regression testing: new content must not break existing features