Steam Changes 2-Hour Refund Policy for Games Played Before Launch

Steam has recently announced a significant change to its refund policy, which previously allowed gamers to refund their games that have been played for 2 hours before launch. However, Valve's platform will stop issuing refunds for the titles, that have been played for the said time before release. 

According to Valve's official statement, Steam has updated its terms and conditions on the matter, and gamers who played these titles during their 'Early Access or Advanced Access' period will no longer get refunds, as their playtime will be counted against the 2-hour refund period mark.

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Steam Changes its 2-Hour Refund Policy for Early and Advanced Access Games

Steam has released an official statement on the matter to clarify its refunding policies to users. In the statement, Valve mentioned that the 2-hour playtime limit for refunds will apply for titles playable before its release date, except for beta testing. The 14-day refund, however, will not start until the game's release. 

If a user purchases a game during its Early Access or Advanced Access, any playtime will be counted against the two-hour refund limit. If the user pre-purchased a title and it is not playable before the release date, they can still request a refund at any time before the release; moreover, the standard 14-day/two-hour refund period will also apply to the game after it has launched on Steam. 

Many Steam users are unhappy with the recent refund policy changes made to the platform. However, many also think this can counter the massive refunds on Early and Advanced Access titles after users have poured a lot of time into them. The Steam refunding system, as mentioned by Valve, exists for specific reasons that can aid the user if they mistakenly purchased the title. These include purchasing a title and then realizing they don't meet the system requirements of the hardware or disliking a title after giving it a brief amount of time. However, many are seen to exploit the policy, especially for Early Access and Advanced Access games.

With the reviewed refunding policy, any playtime on the Early or Advanced Access title will count 'against' the two-hour refund limit. Meaning one can no longer refund these games after playing them once on the platform. However, if the user has owned the game for less than 14 days, they will be able to issue a refund after the game's release.