Over the years, steam has grown to be one of the most popular destinations for gamers. It has numerous games which can be easily purchased and played. However, whenever there are numerous games to choose from, there is tendency for taking some wrong decisions in the choice of which game to get. As a matter of fact, one of the problems associated with video games is that it’s difficult to predict if we will like a particular game until it’s purchased and played. This is more reason why Steam (the biggest digital game retailer at the present) is considered good because it offers refunds for purchases that are not satisfying.
As a result, you can request for refund on any game you bought through steam for whatever reason. Which may include, games not properly working on your PC or you don’t really find it interesting.
The availability of this feature makes it easy for gamers to try out games that they are not even sure about. And without any fear, they can always request for refund on games they don’t find interesting. In fact, this is very useful presently that few games offer free demos.
If you happen to be unlucky and experience remorse at your first gameplay experience, you’re not at loss; your money could still be refunded. All you need to do is submit your request and the game will be taken out of your library, as well your money will surely be refunded.
Therefore, there is no cause for alarm whenever you spend your money on games that isn’t worth it, since there is room for being refunded on Steam. With this article, you will know everything about how to go about it. All you have to do is to carefully read to the end.
When can a game be refunded?
Before you can be considered eligible to get a refund, two basic requirements must be met which include; the purchase of the game should still be within 2 weeks (14days). Secondly, the game must have been played for less than 2 hours.
When these two requirements are met, Valve employee will refund you for whatever the reason may be. More so, if these requirements aren’t met, you can still request for refunds, the employee will go through your request but there is no guarantee that you will be refunded.
Furthermore, when it is discovered that you do refund a lot of games, it may be considered as an abuse, and consequently may be denied of the opportunity of getting refunds. This is because the Valve employee policy concerning this service is to eliminate the risk of purchasing titles on Steam and not as a means of getting free games. Although, it wasn’t spelt in clear terms what they consider as an abuse, nevertheless, you will still be fine so far you’re not known for buying a large quantity of games and refunding majority of them.
However, if you request a refund on a game you’ve bought and afterwards choose to buy it at a lower sales price, it won’t be considered an abuse. For example, if a $60 game is purchased and in few days’ time its sale price is $30, you can choose to get a refund and buy it at that lower price. Provided your play time is still less than 2 hours. Refunds will either be sent to that same payment method you use in purchasing the game or to your Steam wallet credit so that you can spend it on Steam.
How a Game can be refunded
As long as your purchase is still within 14 days, and you haven’t played it for more than 2 hours, your refund is guaranteed. Below are the steps with which you can get your refunds.
1. Go to the Steam support site. You can either access the page by simply visiting their website in your browser or by clicking Help > Steam support in Steam. If you are accessing through a web browser, you will need to log in with your account. On the other hand, when visiting through steam page, you will be signed in automatically.
2. Choose the game you will like to refund. If the game is played recently, you will see the name under “Recent products” at the upper part of the page. Else, click on “purchase”.
3. The list of all purchases you’ve made since past 6 months will be seen. More so, Steam trading cards together with other items sold on the community market will also be seen.
4. Haven seen that, locate and click the game you want to refund.
5. You will be asked what problem you have with the game, here click on the “I would like a refund” button.
6. In this section, their support system will inquire from you whether you need help in fixing some technical issues regarding the game. Meaning that, if it happens that the game isn’t running properly, you may have to try this option instead of refunding the game. But, if your focus is to get a refund, proceed to clicking “I’d like to request a refund“.
7. Your eligibility will be checked here. And if passed, you will be offered the refund. So you will need to choose your refund method, whether through the original payment or the Steam wallet credit. However, if you’re not eligible, you will be informed about it, nevertheless, you will still be allowed to place your request.
8. When asked the reason for refund, choose a reason from the box and type a little message you have in mind. This is to help Valve as well as the game’s developer to understand why you won’t be keeping the game.
9. Proceed by submitting your request, simply by clicking the button.
Haven done all these, an email will be sent to you informing you that your refund request has been received and that Valve is reviewing your request.
If the requirements are met, another email will be sent informing you that your purchase has been refunded. These processes are usually done within few hours.
As much as the refund policy is generous, there are still some limitations. For instance, you can’t get a refund for any game purchased for like 2 years that you never played. Likewise, there is no refund for any new game played for about 6 hours before you find out that it was terrible. Therefore, when a new game is purchased on Steam, endeavour to try it out within the space of 14 days, in case you may want to refund or not.
We hope that the above stated steps had provided you the necessary answers concerning your query of how to refund a game on Steam.
