How to Refund a Steam Game: The 14-Day, Two-Hour Rule Explained

Steam will refund a game for any reason if you ask within two weeks of buying it and you have played it for less than two hours. That is Valve's own rule, and it applies to most games and software on the store. Here is how it works, and where the exceptions are.

Can you get a refund on a Steam game?

Yes. Valve says requests must fall "within two weeks of purchase and with less than two hours of playtime," and that refunds are available for any reason. You do not need to say the game is broken. If your request falls outside those limits, Valve says it may still review it, but it does not promise to approve it.

How do you request a Steam refund?

You ask through Steam Support at help.steampowered.com. Valve's refund page points to that address for refund requests and other help with Steam purchases.

How long does a Steam refund take, and where does the money go?

Valve says approved refunds are paid out within about a week of approval. The money returns to the same payment method you used, or to Steam Wallet funds. Some payment methods cannot receive refunds directly. If Steam cannot refund the original method, the full amount goes to your Steam Wallet instead.

Do DLC, in-game purchases and pre-orders follow the same rules?

Not always. Valve lists these special cases:

• DLC: refundable within 14 days if the base game has under two hours of playtime since you bought the DLC, and the DLC has not been consumed, modified or transferred. Some third-party DLC is marked non-refundable before you buy it.
• In-game purchases: in Valve's own games, unused items can be refunded within 48 hours. In other developers' games, they are not refundable through Steam unless the developer opts in.
• Pre-purchases: if the game is not playable yet, you can ask for a refund any time before release, and the 14-day window starts on release day. Early Access playtime counts toward the two-hour limit.
• Bundles: refundable if no items were transferred and total playtime across all items is under two hours. Steam shows at checkout if a bundle contains non-refundable items.
• Subscriptions: requests must be made within 48 hours of purchase or renewal, and only if you have not used content in the current billing cycle.
• Gifts: an unredeemed gift follows the standard rule. A redeemed gift can be refunded only if the person who received it asks, and the money goes back to the buyer.

Can Steam refuse your refund?

Yes. Valve says it may stop offering refunds to people who appear to abuse the system. It also says that buying a game just before a sale and buying it again at the sale price is not considered abuse. Players banned by VAC lose refund rights for that game. Video content is not refundable unless it is bundled with refundable items, and keys bought outside Steam cannot be refunded by Valve.

What we could not confirm

Valve's page does not say how often it approves requests that fall outside the two-week and two-hour limits, or what counts as "abuse" beyond the examples above. We have not tested the refund process ourselves, and Valve can change its policy, so check the official page before you buy.

Summary

Steam refunds are available for any reason if you ask within 14 days of buying and the game has under two hours of playtime. Ask through Steam Support, and Valve says approved refunds are paid out within about a week to your original payment method or Steam Wallet. DLC, in-game purchases, pre-purchases, bundles, subscriptions and gifts follow their own rules, and Valve can refuse people who appear to abuse refunds.

Related articles

• Steam Deck Verified vs Playable vs Unsupported: What Each Rating Means
• GTA 6 Launch Week Checklist: Pre-Load, Pre-Order Bonuses and What to Do Before November 19
• More gaming news