Steam’s Updated Refund Policy Now Enforces A Playtime Limit On Early Access Games

Valve is giving Steam s another reason to stay away from early access games as it expands its refund policy to include early access titles.

Prior to the policy changes, Steam s could request a refund no questions asked two weeks after purchasing a fully launched title, provided that they haven’t reached the two-hour playtime limit. They could also sink as many hours as they want into an early access game as long and still get a refund before the game transitioned to full release. With the new policy, the two-week, two-hour rule now applies to early access games.

“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,” reads the newly updated policy. “For example, if you purchase a game that is in Early Access or Advanced Access, any playtime will count against the two-hour refund limit. If you pre-purchase a title which is not playable prior to the release date, you can request a refund at any time prior to release of that title, and the standard 14-day/two-hour refund period will apply starting on the game’s release date.”

Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to decide whether a game is worth its purchase price in just two hours. For most MMORPG’s, two hours will only take you as far as the tutorial which only touches the surface of a game that’s meant to be played for at least a few years.

While I get that the new policy is meant to prevent refund abuse, it’s inadvertently made early access games even less appealing than they already are, given that you’re basically purchasing a game that’s more often than not still in the early stages of development. It also makes it easier for developers to abuse early access by simply making the first two hours as entertaining and polished as they can while leaving everything else an unfinished mess.