The game itself says I've played 94-95 minutes, but Steam says it's 2 hours?
The game itself says I've played 94-95 minutes, but on returning, Steam says it's been 2 hours?

How is that possible? I know I didn't play the game I'm trying to refund for 2 hours. I sat at 94 minutes, not playing the game at all - like LOGGED OUT of steam - AWAY FROM THE DESK - thinking about it.

Not sure if they'll refund it or not. But I took some screen shots of what I have. I may have pics from a week ago when I purchased them to show the time hasn't changed. I played it, basically, once.

Thanks, much.
Last edited by Saturnberry; Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:41am

Something went wrong while displaying this content. Refresh

Error Reference: Community_9708323_
Loading CSS chunk 7561 failed.
(error: https://community.fastly.steamstatic.com/public/css/applications/community/communityawardsapp.css?contenthash=789dd1fbdb6c6b5c773d)
Originally posted by crunchyfrog:
And do note if you're trying to refund it and you run up against that playtime, you will likely be refused immediately by the AUTOMATED (first) request.

So you amend your claim with the "I have a question about this item" option and explain your case. But do note at this stage it IS a discretionary refund so if they still refuse that's the end of it.
< 1 2 >
Showing 1-15 of 19 comments
MancSoulja Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:17am 
The time in game is how long you have been playing that particular save file. The time on your profile is how long you have have had the game running.
The author of this thread has indicated that this post answers the original topic.
crunchyfrog Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:19am 
And do note if you're trying to refund it and you run up against that playtime, you will likely be refused immediately by the AUTOMATED (first) request.

So you amend your claim with the "I have a question about this item" option and explain your case. But do note at this stage it IS a discretionary refund so if they still refuse that's the end of it.
Saturnberry Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:28am 
It seems strange to me, because this is my only save file that I've played. Nobody else playing on my puter. But wait! lol Having the game running and how long you've been in the game are different? Is it running in the background when it still says "Play" and it's not operating? O,o

It hasn't been 2 hours. That much I am certain of. I've been hosed by steam so many times, I really keep an eye on it. They're saying it's something it is not. -- unless they're counting download time? - that could suck, that's almost an hour itself, maybe?

Appreciate the insight. I purposefully did not play for 2 solid hours - for this reason. lol >,<"

Sorry, that makes me scratch my head, the concept of having played but - it doesn't show the right *time*. Seems oddly arbitrary.
Last edited by Saturnberry; Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:29am
Saturnberry Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:32am 
I mean, it looks like they rounded it up from 94-95 minutes. I don't get that last 16 minutes! :(
crunchyfrog Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:35am 
Originally posted by Saturnberry:
It seems strange to me, because this is my only save file that I've played. Nobody else playing on my puter. But wait! lol Having the game running and how long you've been in the game are different? Is it running in the background when it still says "Play" and it's not operating? O,o

It hasn't been 2 hours. That much I am certain of. I've been hosed by steam so many times, I really keep an eye on it. They're saying it's something it is not. -- unless they're counting download time? - that could suck, that's almost an hour itself, maybe?

Appreciate the insight. I purposefully did not play for 2 solid hours - for this reason. lol >,<"

Sorry, that makes me scratch my head, the concept of having played but - it doesn't show the right *time*. Seems oddly arbitrary.
Yes that can happen. If there's legacy files still running or the game didn't quite shut down proplerly that can commonly happen and give you an incorrect reading.

For this reason game time isn't that accurate anyway. I still have several games that are glitched from years ago as far as game time goes.

As I said though you'll need to do your ticket as I detailed.
DC-GS Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:35am 
You spent 95minutes on that save file and another 25minutes in menus.
The 2 h limit is the game time running.
Last edited by DC-GS; Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:45am
Saturnberry Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:35am 
According to the info on my game, Play Time is 95 minutes, according to steam Playtime (their spelling/phrasing) is 2 hours. This is not right. O,o

Also! It says I played it *today*. I did not play this game today - I uninstalled this game today. It didn't uninstall for that long.

Last edited by Saturnberry; Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:36am
crunchyfrog Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:39am 
Originally posted by Saturnberry:
According to the info on my game, Play Time is 95 minutes, according to steam Playtime (their spelling/phrasing) is 2 hours. This is not right. O,o

Also! It says I played it *today*. I did not play this game today - I uninstalled this game today. It didn't uninstall for that long.
It doesn't matter realy.

All you can do at this point is ask for the refund as I detailed earlier.
MancSoulja Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:39am 
Originally posted by Saturnberry:
I mean, it looks like they rounded it up from 94-95 minutes. I don't get that last 16 minutes! :(

The time the game shows is the time you've been PLAYING. the time Steam shows includes menus, loading screens and when you have it paused, etc.
Last edited by MancSoulja; Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:40am
Saturnberry Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:40am 
No, I didn't spend time while thinking about it, in menus. I thought about it over the past week while not playing it.
crunchyfrog Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:44am 
Originally posted by Saturnberry:
No, I didn't spend time while thinking about it, in menus. I thought about it over the past week while not playing it.
Again it ultimately doesn't matter. Steam does this - it detects when the games is running and sometimes, as I said, if it doesn't close proplerly it can see legacy files running and it accounts for them.

But ultimately it doesn't matter because nothing can be changed. All you do is as I said - do your refund, the first will be refused, then you amend it and explain your situation and wait.
Saturnberry Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:46am 
Originally posted by MancSoulja:
Originally posted by Saturnberry:
I mean, it looks like they rounded it up from 94-95 minutes. I don't get that last 16 minutes! :(

The time the game shows is the time you've been PLAYING. the time Steam shows includes menus, loading screens and when you have it paused, etc.

Yes, I would guess that being in a menu while the game is ON and playing - even if paused - is technically still in the game.

Now another game that I'm trying to refund, that's a lot cheaper, says I've played for 17 minutes. Same scenario. I turned it on and played a bit. But that one is showing the proper time.

If I was in menus or had the game paused, the Play Time on my own game page would be updated as well. Considering that it was 95 when i left and 2 hours now. Something is wrong.

And I appreciate the input. Just .. worried.
Saturnberry Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:50am 
Originally posted by crunchyfrog:
Originally posted by Saturnberry:
No, I didn't spend time while thinking about it, in menus. I thought about it over the past week while not playing it.
Again it ultimately doesn't matter. Steam does this - it detects when the games is running and sometimes, as I said, if it doesn't close proplerly it can see legacy files running and it accounts for them.

But ultimately it doesn't matter because nothing can be changed. All you do is as I said - do your refund, the first will be refused, then you amend it and explain your situation and wait.

I appreciate it. :crying_yeti: :crying_yeti:
Washell Feb 7, 2022 @ 2:22pm 
Steam's counter starts when the game starts running and stops when you the game is fully shutdown. In-game counters are irrelevant, it's steam's counter that is looked at for refund purposes. Additional time not shown on the counter can be from off-line play or family sharing.
nullable Feb 7, 2022 @ 3:07pm 
Originally posted by Saturnberry:
Originally posted by MancSoulja:

The time the game shows is the time you've been PLAYING. the time Steam shows includes menus, loading screens and when you have it paused, etc.

Yes, I would guess that being in a menu while the game is ON and playing - even if paused - is technically still in the game.

Now another game that I'm trying to refund, that's a lot cheaper, says I've played for 17 minutes. Same scenario. I turned it on and played a bit. But that one is showing the proper time.

If I was in menus or had the game paused, the Play Time on my own game page would be updated as well. Considering that it was 95 when i left and 2 hours now. Something is wrong.

And I appreciate the input. Just .. worried.

So let's sum up. Steam's refund system has been in place since 2015. Steam has been tracking playtime for a lot longer. Steam has processed millions of refunds by this point. And you're claiming that the discrepancy between the playtime on your save game and Steam's playtime on the application is evidence that Steam is tracking play time incorrectly?

And you're concerned/skeptical and don't agree that:

  1. Your understanding of the various systems is lacking?
  2. That both play times could be correct, but they're different because they track different things?

Regardless of if you acknowledge it or not. The time the applications runs is always going to be greater than your save game time. It takes a bit of time to load up the application, load the save game, etc. And any time, remembered or not, you spent in between adds up. So even if you clicked every option to load the save game within milliseconds of it being available application time would still be greater.

The scenario is so plausible, so common, and so typical that it's confusing to me that you're confused about it. Valve didn't round up, you're rounding down and aren't quite willing to acknowledge that.
< 1 2 >
Showing 1-15 of 19 comments
Per page: 1530 50

Date Posted: Feb 7, 2022 @ 9:11am
Posts: 19