2 hour playtime refund restriction

[AshBandicoot]

I would like to suggest that steam increases the limit for refunds by having a 2 hour playtime. No where else has that short of a limit and I think for most games you need more than 2 hours to get a proper feel for the game, see it if works properly on your pc or even enjoy playing it at all. To me, it feels a little predatory tbh, giving you such a short window to refund despite being the MOST USED GAME PLATFORM. Im sure most people on steam have spent upwards of thousands over the years. No physical store would give a 2 hour limit, why does steam get away with it?

[Anonymous Helper]

The 2 hour limit is not there for you to demo games, it's there to remove risk from buying broken games or games that don't work on your computer. You should do proper research to see if you like the game BEFORE you buy it.

[Kitt 🌟 Stargazer]

2 hours is more then enough time to make an accurate assessment.

[FFL2and3rocks]

If developers had their way, you wouldn't be able to refund after launching the game at all. 2 hours is a compromise.

[Piston Smashed™]

If you cannot tell if your PC can run a game within two hours then I think you either need a better PC and/or learn how to tell if your PC is capable of running a game. Either way two hours is more than enough to make a decision.

No physical store would accept a PC game that has been opened because the game code could have been used and locked down to an account rendering the game useless if it has been used, something which cannot be verified unless you try to activate the code.

Steam hasn't got away with anything, if anyone is trying to get away with anything it is people wanting more free game time before refunding a game.

[Ionut Catalin Frasineanu]

You should be satisfied with the 2 hours playtime! At Playstation, simply downloading the game to the console, even if it has not been played for a single minute, leads to the loss of the right of return. Do you notice the difference? That's why Steam is the best platform and not only for good reason. Your suggestion is baseless...

[BJWyler]

Originalmente postado por AshBandicoot:

I would like to suggest that steam increases the limit for refunds by having a 2 hour playtime. No where else has that short of a limit and I think for most games you need more than 2 hours to get a proper feel for the game, see it if works properly on your pc or even enjoy playing it at all. To me, it feels a little predatory tbh, giving you such a short window to refund despite being the MOST USED GAME PLATFORM. Im sure most people on steam have spent upwards of thousands over the years. No physical store would give a 2 hour limit, why does steam get away with it?

You're right, most physical stores wouldn't give you two hours - as soon as you open the game package, you don't get a refund, even with 0 hours. As a matter of fact, many online retailers give you two hours now as the standard, but there are plenty that give even less.

Refund systems aren't a try before you buy option. They are in place for returning products that are completely broken, in which 2 hours is more than enough time. Heck you don't even need to buy the product - a little research beforehand will tell you all you need to know about the state of the game.

[Ethanol]

2 hours is more enough to test water the game with your rig, if it has hiccups, crashes, stutters, high tempt, etc.

Sony, SEGA, EA, Activision Blizzard, and Ubisoft don't ever offer such policy, unless said product is extremely broken and unplayable, one good example was Cyberpunk 2077.

[76561198407601200]

Originalmente postado por AshBandicoot:

I would like to suggest that steam increases the limit for refunds by having a 2 hour playtime. No where else has that short of a limit and I think for most games you need more than 2 hours to get a proper feel for the game, see it if works properly on your pc or even enjoy playing it at all. To me, it feels a little predatory tbh, giving you such a short window to refund despite being the MOST USED GAME PLATFORM. Im sure most people on steam have spent upwards of thousands over the years. No physical store would give a 2 hour limit, why does steam get away with it?

Research the game prior to purchasing so you have a proper "feel" of the game, others have managed to do this fine for some decades. You do also have to remember that the refund system is for the games fail to run properly on your computer, not to get a "feel" of the game. You did however provide a simply solution for yourself, purchase the physical copies of the game, this way when you are doing your many refunds you will be required to do some traveling to do so.

[Supafly]

Originalmente postado por AshBandicoot:

I think for most games you need more than 2 hours to get a proper feel for the game, see it if works properly on your pc or even enjoy playing it at all.

I can and have refunded games with less than 30 minutes in them. For longer games with character generation quickly spam through it all to get to actually playing. If you pass 2 hours and intended to keep it you can always start a new save an take you time.

I've also completed games in less than 2 hours.

No matter what limit is put in the policy some will always want more, then more, then more.

You have 2 hours, use it wisely, and refund within that period.

As for whether it runs properly on your PC thats what requirements, third party reviews sites, youtube and the discussion boards are for. Use them BEFORE you buy

[Crazy Tiger]

Valve should follow the laws, that's 0 hours playtime. The 2 hours already is a courtesy.

[Tanoomba]

It used to be that every refund request had to be manually reviewed and approved by a Valve employee. During this time, only requests that legally qualified for a refund were approved (so, say, if you didn't like the game your request would be denied regardless of playtime). Valve eventually realized that it would cost them less to automate the refund process, as it was cheaper to approve refunds that didn't have legal merit than it was to pay people to look at every request individually. So even though we're only legally entitled to a refund if a game doesn't run properly (something very easy to determine in 2 hours), Valve implemented their "return for ANY reason, no questions asked" policy because it ultimately saves them money.

What they're not going to do is extend the refund window, as they don't want Steam to be used as a free rental service.

[Pscht]

I would like to suggest you use the forum search.

[Ferox_Stormdragon]

Originalmente postado por AshBandicoot:

I would like to suggest that steam increases the limit for refunds by having a 2 hour playtime. No where else has that short of a limit and I think for most games you need more than 2 hours to get a proper feel for the game, see it if works properly on your pc or even enjoy playing it at all. To me, it feels a little predatory tbh, giving you such a short window to refund despite being the MOST USED GAME PLATFORM. Im sure most people on steam have spent upwards of thousands over the years. No physical store would give a 2 hour limit, why does steam get away with it?

There are is an ocean of resources available on YT/steam/game forums/reddit/blogs etc to research a game before you buy it.

[William Shakesman]

Originalmente postado por Crazy Tiger:

Valve should follow the laws, that's 0 hours playtime. The 2 hours already is a courtesy.

Truly the highest level of Steam employee roleplaying is wishing Steam would change policies to be more disadvantageous to customers for no reason. The rest of you have been totally outdone.

[Nx Machina]

Originalmente postado por AshBandicoot:

I would like to suggest that steam increases the limit for refunds by having a 2 hour playtime. No where else has that short of a limit and I think for most games you need more than 2 hours to get a proper feel for the game, see it if works properly on your pc or even enjoy playing it at all. To me, it feels a little predatory tbh, giving you such a short window to refund despite being the MOST USED GAME PLATFORM. Im sure most people on steam have spent upwards of thousands over the years. No physical store would give a 2 hour limit, why does steam get away with it?

Nowhere else?

Refund policies - Take your pick.

Note: (***) same refund policy.

1) Steam - Within two weeks of purchase and with less than two hours of playtime. (***)

2) Epic - Games and products are eligible for refund within 14 days of purchase. However, you must have less than 2 hours of runtime on record. (***)

3) Ubisoft (UPDATED) - You can request a refund for a digital PC game within 14 days of your purchase, as long as the game has not been played for more than two hours. (***)

Previously it was: (You can request a refund for a digital order within 14 days of your purchase, as long as the content has not been launched).

4) EA Play - Whichever comes first.

a) Within 24 hours after you first launch the game.

b) Within 14 days from the day you bought it, if you have not launched the game.

c) Within 14 days from the release date if you pre-ordered the game, if you haven't launched it yet.

5) Blizzard - The game is newly purchased within the last 3 days. You haven't started the game; if the game has been played at all it won't qualify for a refund.

6) GOG - starting now, you can get a full refund up to 30 days after purchasing a product, even if you downloaded, launched, and played it. That's it. (Open to abuse and they monitor for abuse and reserve the right to refuse a refund as do all PC stores).

GOG - https://ibb.co/ZzXPMwv