What would cause the compiled Shipping version to crash when the Development Editor version runs fine?

I made a plugin to use a joystick and put it in the Shooter Game demo. Shooter Game ran without problems in the editor with or without the joystick plugged in. Once Shooter Game was compiled as a Shipping version, it ran without problems with the joystick unplugged. Plugging the joystick in after the level started also had no problems. However, having the joystick plugged in before Shooter Game is loaded or before the level is started caused a fatal error that resulted in a crash. What would cause the compiled version of the game to crash under these circumstances while the game run in the editor works?

Lots of things could. Can you post the crash log?