Steam closes a loophole that allows players to get their money back

the valve They have just changed their refund policy steam, To close a loophole that some users had previously exploited, especially those who previously purchased games using Advanced Access.

Unlike Early Access, which allows players to purchase and play incomplete versions of games, Advanced Access allows customers who have pre-ordered games to start playing even before the official release date. Previously, Valve did not start counting the two hours of gameplay, which is the refund window, until the official release date. This was exactly the loophole that allowed players to enjoy an entire game thanks to Early Access, and then get their money back once that game was released.

with advertisement Posting today on the Steam blog, Valve highlighted that it has addressed the issue, explaining that playtime during the Advanced Access period will now typically be included in the calculation of the standard refund option. This means that if a game is played for more than two hours during this period, it will no longer be eligible for a refund after it's officially released, regardless of total post-release playtime.

This change is intended to protect developers, especially those creating shorter games and independent studios.