The New Refund Policy for Pre-Purchased Games on Steam

As a player who loves diving into new games, you're probably familiar with the feeling of excitement that comes with pre-purchasing a title before its release date. But have you ever wondered what happens if you change your mind after playing a few hours? Well, Steam has recently updated its refund policy to clarify the rules for pre-purchased games.

The key phrase is 'player count steam', and this new policy aims to address a common issue that has been plaguing players: the 'loophole' of exploiting the old refund policy. You see, some sneaky gamers would buy a game, play it extensively before release, and then request a refund within the 14-day window. This was clearly not fair to developers who put in hard work to create these games.

So, what's changed? According to Steam, if you pre-purchase a title that is not playable prior to its release date, you can still request a refund at any time before the game's launch. However, there's now a catch: any playtime you accumulate during this period will count against the two-hour refund limit. This means that if you put in more than two hours of gameplay, you'll be exempt from Steam's refund policy.

For example, let's say you pre-purchase a game and start playing it during its Advanced Access period. Any time you spend playing the game before release will be counted towards the two-hour limit. If you exceed this limit, you won't be eligible for a refund once the game is released.

Another important detail to note is that the 14-day refund window doesn't apply until the game's release date. This means that if you pre-purchase a game and start playing it during its Early Access or Advanced Access period, any playtime will count against the two-hour limit, but the 14-day window won't start until the game is released.

So why did Steam make this change? The company wants to ensure that developers are fairly compensated for their work. As Valve's statement puts it, 'there’s not enough fun and/or money in the world to go around, and I think its absolutely disgusting that some people were allowed to have both.' In other words, players who exploit the system by playing a game extensively before requesting a refund are taking advantage of developers who need the revenue to continue creating games.

The new policy is designed to discourage this behavior and promote fair play. So, if you're considering pre-purchasing a game, be sure to understand the updated refund policy and plan your playtime accordingly.

For more information on Steam's refund policy, you can check out their official website.

Player count steam