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Steam outlines its new refund policy

Whether it's a broken product or simply buyer's remorse, Steam is about to allow users to collect refunds on just about any purchase made within 14 days.

Ozzie Mejia

June 2, 2015 11:33 AM

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The words "Steam" and "refund" often aren't seen in conjunction with one another. The closest instance is where someone buys a broken game and yells out, "Steam, I want a refund!" At which point, they would not get one. Well, Valve has now overhauled Steam's refund policy and adjusted it so that consumers could be refunded for any reason within a 14-day window.

"Valve will, upon request via help.steampowered.com, issue a refund for any reason, if the request is made within fourteen days of purchase, and the title has been played for less than two hours," explains the Steam post (via Polygon). Refunds can apply to DLC, in-game purchases (provided they have not been used), pre-orders, Steam Wallet funds, bundles, and unredeemed gift purchases.

There are only a few exceptions to this new policy. Convicted cheaters banned by the Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) system are not eligible for a refund for the game in which they've been banned. Movies are not eligible for refunds. And of course, Steam keys purchased through a third-party site like Green Man Gaming, Direct2Drive, or Humble Bundle are not eligible for refunds. Each of these individual retailers have their own standing refund policies, which can be found on their respective sites.

It should be noted that Steam's refund policy, as currently stated, compares favorably with its competitors. GOG.com offers a 30-day money back guarantee, though it will only come after a round with technical support and after determining that a game is broken. PlayStation Network has a similar policy. The Xbox Store/Marketplace does not have a specific refund policy in place, but if this Reddit thread is any indication, users are only granted one authorized refund for digital purchases. When placed against its competition, Steam's refund policy appears to be fairly magnanimous.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?