Entertainment
Valve closes loophole on early access and advanced access game refunds-Kenneth Andersen-Entertainment – Metro
The loophole that let fans play advanced access games for hours on end, and get a refund on Steam, is now closed, and fans aren’t angry.
You can no longer play advanced access for hours on end and expect a refund (Picture: WB Games)
The loophole that let fans play advanced access games for hours on end, and get a refund on Steam, is now closed, and fans aren’t angry.
PC gaming is on the up at the moment, with Steam beating its own record for the number of players online three times this year already, and overtaking its record for most concurrent active players with an incredible 11,582,167 in January.
One reason why Steam is the most popular PC games retailer is because it has a no-questions-asked refund policy, as long as you claim your money back within 14 days of purchase and haven’t played the game for more than two hours.
This rule didn’t apply to games that offered advanced access – a feature that lets you play the game early if you’ve pre-purchased it – but this is about to change, Valve has decided that all playtime now counts towards the two hour refund limit.
Before the new refund policy update, fans who bought advanced access versions of games through Steam could use it as a loophole to play for as long as they wanted, within 14 days of purchase, and still get a refund.
Valve didn’t say if this is the reason it changed its policy, but further explained:
‘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.’
Fans are onboard with the decision, with Sebetha on Reddit saying: ‘Honestly, it’s kind of surprising it wasn’t already this way. This is incredibly abusable.’
‘No complaints from me,’ Oxygenius added.
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To clarify, you can still refund games within 14 days of purchase, as long as you haven’t played it more than two hours. But now the two hour refund limit starts ticking while you play in advanced access, which wasn’t the case before.
It’s a sensible decision, as you’ll know if you dislike a game so much you want a refund within two hours of play.
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