Steam brought one edit apparently small, but substantial to its policy of refunds. Previously it was possible to request a refund if you played less than two hours after the launch date. So, all those games that guaranteed an early access period of a few days, perhaps after purchasing a more expensive edition, have seen refund requests from people who have accumulated several hours of gameplay before the actual release .
Evidently the technicality was discovered, some players abused it and here it is Valve she was forced to take action, tightening her belt a little.
The new rule
In the section: “Refunds on titles purchased before the release date” of the official Steam guidelines, you can now read: “Usually, when you purchase a title on Steam before the release date, the limit of two hours of gameplay will apply for refunds, but the 14-day refund period will not begin prior to the release date.” So the two-hour limit remains, but begins to accumulate as soon as you have access to the game, as explained later: “For example, if you purchase a game in Early Access or Advanced Access, any play time will count towards the refund limit If you pre-purchase a title that is not playable before the release date, you can request a refund at any time before that title’s release and the standard 14 day/two hour refund period will apply from that date. of game release.”
We do a example: The release date of Game Previously, the playing time for the refund would have been counted from April 25th, the actual release date, while now from April 23rd, the date on which access to the game becomes available. The 14 days for reimbursement, however, still start from April 25th. So, just in case, you have 16 days from the moment the game is unlocked to request it.
