Check out the video tutorial above, or read on start tracking your backlog like a pro!

Overview

Game Progress Tracking uses a simple yet powerful structure: Categories and Values. You can define one progress state per game at a time, making it easy to see exactly where you are in your journey—from "Not Started" to "Done".

We provide a solid set of default options, but you're free to customize this system however you like.

Default Categories and Values

• Not Started

  • Unplayed

  • Want to Play

  • Won't Play

• Active

  • In Progress

  • Continuous

  • Paused

• Done

  • Beaten

  • Completed

  • Mastered

  • Dropped

Each progress state is represented in the format: Category / Value (e.g., Done / Completed).

Editing Progress

You can set or change a game's progress state from the Edit Game window. Simply use the dropdown list or type your own custom Category / Value string to add new ones.

A gear icon beside the dropdown takes you directly to the Game Progress Priorities page in the app's Options menu (Tools > Options > Data > Game Progress Priorities), where you can:

• Add new categories or values

• Remove unused ones (cannot remove in-use entries)

• Reorganize the order

This order will reflect in the Edit Game dropdown, the on-the-fly Filter Button, and The Filter Sidebar section.

Automation Rules

Automation can save you time by automatically setting progress values based on criteria. You can enable/disable and customize this system from Tools > Options > Data > Game Progress.

Default Rules and Values

1. Games that don’t match any of the below → Not Started / Unplayed

2. Games with playtime greater than the following (in minutes) → Active / In Progress

3. Games where you’ve earned at least one achievement (from any source) → Active / In Progress

4. Games you’ve beaten with RetroAchievements in softcore mode → Done / Beaten

5. Games you’ve beaten with RetroAchievements in hardcore mode → Done / Beaten

6. Games where you’ve earned every achievement on RetroAchievements (softcore mode) → Done / Completed

7. Games where you’ve earned every achievement from any source (RetroAchievements must be in hardcore mode) → Done / Mastered

Badges

Enable the Progress Badge system via: Badges > Game Attributes > Progress. This displays dynamic badges in your game views that reflect each game's progress state.

We’ve updated the Nostalgic, White Outline, and White Filled badge packs with all necessary visuals.

Badge Fallback System:

LaunchBox uses a smart fallback system to ensure a progress badge is always displayed, even if custom images are missing. When loading a badge, it first looks for an exact match using the full Category / Value combination—this is the most specific and preferred option (e.g., Active _ Paused.png). If no value-specific badge is found, it then falls back to a more general badge based on just the category name (e.g., Active.png). And if neither of those exist, LaunchBox will display a generic Progress.png badge instead. This tiered fallback approach ensures that every game can show a meaningful badge, whether you go all-out customizing every value or just cover the basics.

Custom Badges:

• Stored in: LaunchBox\Images\Media Packs\Badges\[pack name]\Progress

• Filenames: Category _ Value.png (slashes become underscores)

• Example of Category / Value badge: Active _ Paused.png

• Example of Category badge: Active.png

• Location Progress.png badge: LaunchBox\Images\Media Packs\Badges\[pack name]

Custom pack builders can copy the Progress folder from our included packs to their own badge pack to start customizing.

Filtering & Search

You can filter by progress in several ways:

• On-The-Fly Filter Button – Shows categories and values, contextual to current game list

• Search Bar – Use keywords like Progress: Done / Beaten or just Progress: Beaten

• Sidebar Filter Menu – Switch to the Progress section for a structured view where priority order is respected

Playlists

Progress values can be used in playlist creation:

• Use on-the-fly filter button to segment games, then click the button again and use the buttom option to Save Filters to New Playlist...

• Use Auto-Populate Playlist rules with criteria like Progress - contains - Beaten

Bulk Editing & Syncing

• Bulk edit games by selecting multiple games in LaunchBox, then > Right-click > Open Bulk Edit Wizard…

• Sync progress values across devices using Tools > Cloud (requires a LaunchBox Games Database account to be signed in and Game Statistics Syncing be enabled)

Additional Notes

• Only one progress value can be assigned per game

• Case doesn’t matter, but consistent formatting is recommended

• Special characters (except /) should be avoided to simplify badge naming

• You cannot rename or delete categories/values in use; must remove usage first

• You can export progress data manually by copying from List View into a spreadsheet