Valve has revised Steam’s refund policy to prevent players from taking unfair advantage of the advanced access loophole.
In a Steam community post, Valve announced the change that would affect pre-purchased titles. The post read,
“Today we have updated a portion of our Refund Policy regarding pre-purchased titles. This change covers titles that are in pre-purchase and offer “Advanced Access”. Playtime acquired during the Advanced Access period will now count towards the Steam refund period.”
Previously, Steam allowed players to request a refund if they had accrued less than 2 hours in a game after its official release. However, that rule did not apply to “advanced access” included in the pre-purchase of certain editions of games.
5-day early access is becoming the norm for AAA titles. Steam players who got to play the game before its “official release date” could play for countless hours and still get a refund. However, Valve’s policy update has now closed this loophole.
Players who pre-purchase titles to get Advanced Access can still get their money back as per Steam’s standard refund policy. In such cases, players can request a refund before the Advanced Access begins. According to a Steam FAQ, “the standard 14-day refund period also applies and will not start until the release date.”
