Many years ago, Valve introduced a refund policy for Steam that was ‘no questions asked’, allowing users to refund their purchases.
The rules were that you had to apply for the refund within 14 days of purchase and you couldn’t have played more than two hours of the game. This rule, however, didn’t take into account early access titles.
Baldur's Gate 3 benefitted greatly from its time in Steam early access.
Despite the two-hour rule, players were allowed to play countless hours of an early access game and still process a refund. This will end as of now.
Valve is making a big change. The new rules close that little early access loophole as now you can only play up to two hours of ANY title to ask for a reimbursement. If you pass that two-hour mark, you’re out of luck.
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Valve’s change states, “When you purchase a title on Steam prior to the release date, the two-hour playtime limit for refunds will apply (except for beta testing), but the 14-day period for refunds will not start until the release date.”
The new rules go on to say, “For example, if you purchase a game that is in Early Access or Advanced Access, any playtime will count against the two-hour refund limit.”
What the fallout of this will be with players is anyone’s guess, but the change makes a lot of sense, especially for smaller developers who often use early access to develop the game alongside feedback from the community.
It isn’t fair to them that someone could play for many hours and still apply for a refund. It’s unlikely the change will impact the PC gaming industry that much and Valve had let this opportunity go unchecked for eight years.
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Anyone buying into an early access title does so with the developer being honest about the state of the game and providing a roadmap, so the new rule shouldn’t hurt revenue.