Did not like the Steam game you recently bought or is it not working correctly? Well, don’t worry! Getting a refund on Steam games is very easy if you meet Steam refund rules. You can request a refund for almost any purchase you have made on Steam.
“You can request a refund for nearly any purchase on Steam—for any reason. 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 says.
Valve promises to refund on Steam games if you request for the refund within two weeks of purchase date or within the two hours of the playtime.
However, Valve also considers giving you a refund on Steam games, even if you fall out of the criteria if your reason is valid. You cannot request for a refund on games that you haven’t purchased from the Steam client.
What Steam Refund Policy Says?
As we discussed above, the basic refund rules of Steam are – you have purchased the game in the last 14 days and played it less than two hours.
Let’s see some more conditions when you can ask for refunds when your return the game on Steam:
- You can request a refund on a preordered game only up till 14 days of its release
- If you are asking for returns on a Steam wallet funds, make sure that you request within 14 days and do not spend any funds meanwhile
- You cannot request for a refund on any third-party providers or games purchased by the developers and not the Steam game client
- Similarly, you cannot claim a refund if you have received a Valve anti-cheat system (VAC) as you are no more allowed to ask for a refund
- The two hour and 14 days rules remain intact even if you want to return a bundle and it applies for all the games in the bundle
You can read the Steam Refund policy to know more about the Steam refund rules.
Well, these were the few conditions when you can ask for a refund on Steam games.
How to Request for a Refund on Steam Games?
If your computer doesn’t meet the Steam’s hardware requirements or if you have purchased the wrong Steam game, it’s time to appeal for the refund directly. But how to refund a game on steam?
However, if you fall under the two hours and 14 days refund rules window, it is an easy and painless process to request from the Steam Support.
But, if you have crossed that grace period, you have to be very particular about the reason you are requesting for a refund. Go through the following steps to claim for a refund on Steam games:
- Open Steam through your web browser and log in to Steam
- Click on the Support tab (at the top of the Steam screen)
- Go the recent purchases and click on the game title you want to refund
Note: You can also click on the purchases tab and find the title
- Now, hit on “I would like a refund ” if you haven’t played it more than two hours
- If you have played that game for more than two hours, click on “it’s not what I expected.”
- Further, hit on the “I’d like to request a refund .” Option
- Complete the “tell us why ” window explaining why you want a refund
- Once you’re done with that, click on Submit Request
You have now received a support ticket from Steam. Steam also sends additional information on your registered mail id confirming whether you are or you are not receiving any refund.
Congratulations to those who have reasonably received their expected refund email!
However, to those who are denied for a refund, you can give another chance and technically appeal and request for another support ticket.
There are high chances that a different employee reviews your request and checks if you have an unfair rejection of your refund request and may also accept it.
How Long Do Steam Refunds Take?
So you have received a confirmation email for your refund and wondering how long it would take for the refund process to complete.
Well, in most cases, you can receive your refund in around seven working days. However, it might take some extra time if it is an international transaction.
Your refund returns in the same payment method you have made. For example- if you paid with your credit card or bank card, you can see the refund in the same credit card or bank card.
If you paid through the Steam funds or if Steam is not able to refund to the payment method you have made. All the refund goes to your Steam Wallet.
Done! Steam offers you a generous way to request for a Steam refund. But, ensure that you only request for returns for valid reasons. You may get a warning from Valve stating that “You’ve requested a bunch of refunds recently. Keep in mind that refunds are not a method for trying out games. If we think the refund system is being misused, we’ll decline to grant future refunds.”
Steam Valve also considers that refunding a game purchased before a sale and then buying the same game at the sale price is not supposed to be wrong only if you have played it for less than two hours.
Hope this guide has answered all the questions you may have about the Steam games refund process. If you’ve any questions or experiencing any technical issues with Steam, do check our Steam guides page .
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