Steam stops refunding those who play an Early Access title for more than two hours

It’s the end of an era : Steam changes its refund policy for early access games. From now on, Valve will therefore stop refunding players whose playing time exceeds two hours.

Until recently, Valve was very lenient towards its Steam community regarding its refund policy. Indeed, players were until now entitled to request their money back, provided that they had not played a title for more than two hours after its launch (and that the request was not made after 14 days). after the date of purchase). However, Valve has recently announced that it will no longer compensate people who have spent more than two hours on an early access game.

Steam wants to put an end to abuse and reviews its refund system

Since the introduction of the “Early Access” and “Advanced Access” programs in Steam, Valve has opened the floodgates to a practice now well known to some players. As this is clarified to us by our colleagues from The Vergethis consists of enjoying titles for many hours before its launch and then requesting a refund.

Often praised for its generosity, Steam’s refund policy will no longer be as flexible as before. While it allowed players to easily get refunds for their games, the store recently updated its conditions, announcing that it was ending refunds for early access games exceeding two hours of play.

Understand by this that “ game time acquired during the preview access period will now be taken into account in the calculation of the reimbursement period provided by Steam “. Note, however, that demos and betas are not affected by this new policy.

A policy change that is not unanimous among players

Unsurprisingly, this policy change is already generating mixed reactions within the community. Some approve of Steam’s decision, arguing that it will deter players from abusing the refund system by taking advantage of early access games and then returning them. Others, on the other hand, are frustrated by this new limitation, fearing that it will dissuade them from purchasing early access games for fear of not enjoying them (remember that every minute spent on a game will now be counted). On its website, Valve explains in detail how its new refund policy works. So here’s what you need to remember:

“ When you purchase a title on Steam before the release date, the two-hour play time limit for refunds will apply, but the 14-day period for refunds will not begin until the release date. For example, if you purchase an Early Access or Advanced Access game, any playing time will count toward the two-hour refund limit. If you pre-purchase a title that is not playable before the release date, you can request a refund at any time before that title’s release and the standard 14 day/two hour refund period will apply from from the release date of the game “.

Source : The Verge