Valve has up to date the Steam refund coverage to basically shut a loophole which allowed gamers to accrue a number of hours of playtime by means of superior entry then obtain a full refund at launch.
The refund policy now features a revised “refunds on titles bought previous to launch date” part, which provides an official Advanced Access label and basically applies Valve’s regular two hour time restrict to those video games. Advanced Access refers to video games which will be performed forward of their official launch, normally by buying a particular version at extra value.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, for instance, launched on February 2, 2024 however those that paid a further $30 for the Deluxe Version might play it three days earlier. Its this three-day interval Steam now manufacturers Advanced Access. 2K’s TopSpin 2K25, whose costlier Deluxe Version and Grand Slam Version let homeowners play forward of the official April 25 launch date, carries this new Advanced Access label.
Beforehand, those that performed a sport in Advanced Access might achieve this for dozens of hours and even full it, then request a refund from Steam and get all their a reimbursement so long as they did not play for greater than two hours after launch. Steam’s replace addresses this loophole as Advanced Access video games develop into increasingly well-liked.
“If you buy a title on Steam previous to the discharge date, the 2 hour playtime restrict for refunds will apply (aside from beta testing), however the 14-day interval for refunds won’t begin till the discharge date,” Valve mentioned.
“For instance, if you are going to buy a sport that’s in Early Access or Advanced Access, any playtime will depend towards the two-hour refund restrict. When you pre-purchase a title which isn’t playable previous to the discharge date, you’ll be able to request a refund at any time previous to launch of that title, and the usual 14-day/two-hour refund interval will apply beginning on the sport’s launch date.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll speak about The Witcher all day.