From your story, you seem to have very different "release parties" than what I have encountered.
The ones I'm talking about are ranging from "buy some nice beers and munchies and drink one in the office" to "hire a boat, bring a radio" to "have dinner together". Basically a friendly, shoulderpatting event amongst peers.
*Edit: obviously all pre-covid lockdowns and work-from-home.
So that just sounds like a team event, which I try to do once a month just to help keep the team connected.
I think the difference is internal vs external release then. Our internal releases were generally "nice job" and the like, as we completed sprints. It was still a clear recognition of something being completed. The actual external facing launch that the company cared about, the 'go live', was more what I was referring to, and which never really meant much, to me at least.
The ones I'm talking about are ranging from "buy some nice beers and munchies and drink one in the office" to "hire a boat, bring a radio" to "have dinner together". Basically a friendly, shoulderpatting event amongst peers.
*Edit: obviously all pre-covid lockdowns and work-from-home.