Valve's Steam Refund Policy Gets an Overhaul, Loophole Closed

Valve has made significant changes to its refund policy, aiming to close a loophole that allowed players to exploit advanced access privileges for refunds. This move comes as advanced access games, where players can dive into titles before their official release date, become more prevalent.

What's Changed?

Previously, players could purchase special editions of games, granting them early access before the official launch. During this advanced access period, players could sink hours into gameplay, sometimes even completing the entire game, and still request a full refund upon the game's official release, as long as they played for less than two hours after the launch.

Closing the Loophole

Valve's update to the Steam refund policy addresses this issue directly. Now, games that offer advanced access will carry an official "Advanced Access" label. This label signifies that the standard two-hour playtime limit for refunds will apply even during the advanced access period. Essentially, players can no longer rack up extensive playtime during early access and then request a refund upon the game's release.

Example Cases

To illustrate this change, let's take a look at recent game releases. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and TopSpin 2K25 both offered advanced access through special editions. Players who purchased these editions could play the game days or even weeks before the official release date. However, with the new policy, any playtime during the advanced access period will count towards the two-hour refund limit.

Valve's Statement

Valve clarified the new policy in a statement: "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." This means that while players can still request refunds before a game's release, the standard refund window won't begin until the game officially launches.