There is a service for purchasing games on Steam that everyone is familiar with but may not often use, and that is “STEAM Refund”. Basically, refunds can be made if the purchase is less than 14 days and the game play time is less than 2 hours. However, today Valve updated its refund policy to include “early access to the game” into the 2-hour refund calculation.
Steam updates refund policy to include 2 hours of refund time for early access games
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On the “Steam Refund” page, it is explained that considering that players may “the computer does not meet the hardware requirements”, “you accidentally bought the wrong one”, or “after playing for an hour, you find that you just don’t like it”, so in principle “For games and software purchased on the Steam store that are less than 14 days old and played for less than 2 hours, Valve will refund the user’s request for any reason.”
So how are these 2 hours calculated? The refund policy updated after the 24th includes “early access games” and changes to “If you purchase an early access or early access version of the game, any play time will be calculated as 2 hours.” Within the refund period.”
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After reading this, some people may start to wonder about the difference between “early access” and “early access”. Valve also has a complete explanation. First of all, “Early Access” is a function that allows users who pre-order the game to play the game before it is officially released. For example, the “Deluxe” pre-order version may include an early experience option. For example, in “Modern Warfare III 2023”, as long as you pre-ordered the Treasury Edition, you could experience the story campaign in advance.
“Early Access” is a unique development model that allows the game to be played by players during the development stage until the finished product is officially launched. Early access will encourage developers to continue to update, while allowing players to provide feedback directly through gameplay and community discussions.
Taking the previously popular “Palworld/Eidolon Pallu” as an example, you can still see the description of “early access” on the store page. According to the developer’s explanation, “it is planned to be in this early access version for at least one year. Various content improvements will be made to improve the overall quality of the game.”
With the inclusion of “Early Access” and “Early Access” in the revised refund policy, players who played games through “Early Access” in the past can apply for a refund as long as the game is released before it is released. Now, even if the game has not yet been released, as long as it is Once you play for more than 2 hours through “Advanced Access”, you will not be able to apply for a refund.
The inclusion of “early trial games” in the calculation of the refund period is naturally aimed at players who want to pre-purchase the “early trial games” qualifications and then get a refund after playing them before they are released. This is equivalent to some functions of free play. Now through refund The modification of the payment policy, from now on, the calculation will be based on the ability to start playing the game, and this loophole function will be sealed.
Steam Refund Policy Update Announcement
