How to Get Money Back for PC Games on Steam, Epic Games and GOG

Sometimes you buy a new PC game, but this is not what you expected. The game might not be compatible with your hardware, or the gameplay isn’t right for you. In any case, if you feel customer remorse for a digital copy of a PC game you just bought, you may be eligible for a refund.

There are several online stores that sell digital copies of PC games, but we are focused on getting refunds through Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG as these are the three biggest platforms. All three of these companies offer refunds for game purchases, but their refund policies and claim processes differ.

Steam

Steam’s refund policy is straightforward: You can receive a full refund on any Steam game within 14 days of purchase, provided it has been played for less than two hours, and pre-orders can be canceled for a full refund. This even applies to games sent as gifts to others, although refunds must be requested by the recipient of the gift. In-app purchases and certain downloadable content (DLC) are non-refundable.

Steam is pretty strict about these rules, so don’t expect to get your money back for any unplayed games you bought in the bundle last year. However, the company will offer refunds for games that you purchased more than 14 days ago and / or played for more than two hours, in some rare cases, such as when the main game of an unbearable error or other serious problem is exposed and results in a game loaded from the Steam store. Please contact Steam Support for further assistance in such cases.

How to get a refund for a purchase on Steam

1. Go to the Steam Support page and log into your Steam account.
2. In the “What do you need help” section, select “Purchase”.
3. Select the game you want to get your money back for. If the game you purchased is not listed, then it is not eligible for a refund in this way.
4. Click on the problem you are having with the game.
5. Click “I want to request a refund”.
6. Complete your return request and select from the drop-down menu where you would like to send your return. You can choose whether it is sent to your Steam wallet or back to the original payment method such as your bank account or Paypal.

It can take up to seven days for a refund request to process, but once it is approved, the returned game is removed from your Steam library and your money will be sent back to the payment method you chose in step 6, although this may require some additional work. days to be credited to your bank account. Any game achievements or game stats you’ve earned will still appear on your Steam Community page.

You can read the full Steam Return Policy here .

Epic Games Store

Like Steam, Epic will refund any games within 14 days of purchase if you haven’t played them for more than two hours (although some exceptions can be made in some cases). You can also get a refund for all pre-orders for unreleased games, but this does not include paid early access or beta purchases, which are subject to prior day / hour restrictions.

Epic handles in-app purchases and DLC in a slightly different way:

• Epic will refund certain in-game purchases and DLC related to the game, provided they were purchased from the Epic Store and you “have not used, changed or transferred” any in-game items.
• Items such as character skins, in-game currency, or consumables are non-refundable. Epic will clearly mark any non-refundable purchases on the in-store product page.

You can read Epic’s full return policy here .

How to get a refund on an Epic Store purchase

Certain purchases may be refunded through the self-service feature in your Epic Store Account Settings.

1. Go to the Epic Store website.
2. Sign in to your Epic account
3. Click “Account” in the upper right corner of the page.
4. Click “Transactions”.
5. Select the game or product for which you want to refund, then click Refund and follow the instructions on the screen.

If a game or product is not listed in the Transactions tab, or if you would like to receive a refund for a purchase outside of Epic’s guaranteed money back policy, you can try submitting a refund claim on the Epic support page:

1. Go to the Epic support page . Scroll down and click Contact Us.
2. Sign in to your Epic account.
3. Use the form to submit a return request. You will be contacted by email with further instructions.

Once your refund is complete, the game will be removed from your library. Any refunded funds will be sent back to you using the payment method used in the original transaction.

GOG.com

GOG offers full refunds for games within 30 days of their original purchase, regardless of whether they were downloaded, installed and played. This also applies to:

• Games in development (also known as Early Access and Paid Betas).
• Pre-orders, including up to 30 days after release.
• Games given to you by another person. If you are sending a gift to someone else, you may be eligible for a refund if they have problems, but the recipient must first initiate a refund request.

(Note: “Virtual Goods” such as in-game purchases or DLC purchased through GOG are non-refundable.)

You can read GOG.com’s full return policy here .

How to get a refund for a purchase on GOG.com

GOG’s money-back policy is the most lenient of them all, but it also has a bizarre loophole that makes it open to abuse: unlike Steam or Epic, GOG sells DRM-free (digital rights management) games. This means that users have complete ownership of the games they buy and download, and it also means that GOG cannot delete the game files from your PC after you’ve made a purchase. So yes, you can buy something, request a refund and still keep it for yourself (if you have no conscience).

As such, refund requests must be submitted to GOG Support and subject to approval . GOG also asks users who require a refund due to technical issues or errors to contact GOG Support first to see if the issue can be resolved before requesting a refund.

Once your return has been approved, the games will be removed from your GOG library. Funds will be sent to the payment method specified in the return request. GOG is unable to send refunds to certain financial institutions, in which case the funds will be credited to your account as a store credit unless you offer them another suitable option.

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