Steam recently changed its refund policy regarding playtime during Advanced Access for pre-purchased games. Before this change, Advanced Access playtime did not count towards the two-hour playtime limit for refunds. With the update, it will now be included in the two-hour window for refund eligibility.
A change is being made to prevent users from playing a pre-ordered game extensively during the Advanced Access period and then asking for a refund after the official release. To be honest, it’s surprising that people were able to get away with it for this long. I had assumed that any playtime counted toward your overall playtime, but I guess that wasn’t the case.
To clarify, this change only applies to titles that offer Advanced Access as part of their pre-purchase options. Advanced Access is a feature often included in deluxe or special editions, allowing players to access the game a few days before its official launch. It’s important to note that this differs from Early Access, a development model where games are released in an unfinished state for player feedback and iteration.
Steam’s refund policy for Advanced Access games has been updated. Now, if you play during the early access period, that time will count towards your refund eligibility. For instance, if a game offers three days of Advanced Access and you play for one hour, you’ll only have one remaining hour to play after the official launch before you become ineligible for a refund.
“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.”
Steam Announcement
It’s important to mention that the same refund policies still apply to Early Access games as to any other game on Steam. Players can also leave reviews for Advanced Access and Early Access titles.
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