Links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more. Steam is a hugely popular digital game store not only because it makes buying games so easy, but also because it gives you the option to return them.
This is the same or better service that you would receive when buying a game in a physical store, but you can do it from the comfort of your own home. Keep reading for everything you need to know about Steam refund eligibility, as well as step-by-step instructions on how to return a Steam game.
This includes both full games, DLC, and pre-purchased titles starting from the release date. Joe was born with a keyboard in his hands and immediately started writing about technology. He has a BA Hons in Business and is now a full-time freelance writer who enjoys making tech simple for everyone. What Is the Steam Refund Policy? Steam has a refund policy, which it follows to determine whether you are eligible to get your money back: You must request the refund within 14 days of purchase, or within 14 days of the game's release if it was a pre-order.
You must have played the game for less than two hours. Steam vs. Share Share Tweet Email. Joe Keeley Articles Published. Subscribe to our newsletter Join our newsletter for tech tips, reviews, free ebooks, and exclusive deals! Keep this in mind when making purchases. For example, Cyberpunk had severe and well-documented technical issues upon its release. Many Steam users received refunds for the game, despite having played it for more than two hours, given the number of issues.
You can do this from either your browser or your Steam client. Use whichever method is more convenient for you. In this guide, we have explained how to return a game on Steam.
But while most AAA games easily exceed the two-hour length looking at you, Assassin's Creed Valhalla , smaller indie games with short stories can fall short. This potentially leads to a situation where players can finish a game and return it within two hours. That's the exact situation faced by indie developer Emika Games, who recently released Summer of '58 , a psychological thriller that's received an overall rating of Very Positive on Steam.
Unfortunately, the game can be completed in about 90 minutes, which leaves plenty of time for players to exploit Steam's refund policy. In a statement posted on Twitter, the developer said they are "leaving game development" and referenced that they aren't earning enough to develop more games because of the high amount of refunds. Thank you for your support!
I'm leaving game development for an indefinite time to collect my thoughts. It's an unfortunate situation where a consumer-friendly policy is harming the very developers who can least afford to be losing sales. It's also a difficult problem to fix. Reducing the threshold from two hours will only hurt consumers getting through extremely long AAA releases.
Steam could potentially have a separate policy for shorter indie games, but that would require additional staff to verify that games are indeed shorter, which Valve is unlikely to do.
Another potential technical workaround is using Steam achievements as a signifier of game completion. If a player gets the final achievement for finishing the story, the option to return the game could be removed.
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