Steam amends refund policy, nixing advanced access loophole in the process

Valve has updated its refund policy on Steam, making a small but significant change in the process.

This updated policy means players will no longer be able to exploit a loophole that allowed them to play an 'advanced access' game for more than two hours and still request a refund further down the line.

Sharing news on its amended policy, Valve explained that “playtime acquired during the advanced access period will now count towards the Steam refund period”, which itself states a player can ask for their money back as long as they have purchased the game within the last 14 days and played less than two hours in total.

Here is what Steam has to say on refunds for titles purchased prior to their release date, following this amendment:

“When you purchase a title on Steam prior to the release date, the two-hour playtime limit for refunds will apply (except for beta testing), but the 14-day period for refunds will not start until the release date.

“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.”

Elsewhere in PC news, No Rest for the Wicked developer Thomas Mahler has defended the studio's decision to launch its latest game in early access on Steam, suggesting other games such as Dark Souls could have benefited from this approach.