One of the biggest sticking points with Steam as a service no longer exists, as Valve announced today that it will begin to allow refunds on any and all purchases made through Steam, for any reason, within a window of fourteen days. The only stipulation is that the game not have been played for more than two hours.
“Maybe your PC doesn’t meet the hardware requirements; maybe you bought a game by mistake; maybe you played the title for an hour and just didn’t like it,” Valve said in its announcement.
This marks a dramatic change for Valve, which has so far remained steadfastly against refunds, but it also marks a major victory for consumers and consumer rights, as we go into the digital era. Hopefully, other companies such as Sony, who have similar problems with offering digital refunds, take cues here.
Steam is not the first PC storefront to offer refunds, however- EA’s Origin has allowed them for a very long time, and indeed, it has been one of the biggest advantages that Origin has had over Steam.