It’s been a busy week for Microsoft with news seemingly coming from every gaming division. Today marked another announcement and one that players have been requesting for a long time ; returns for games bought digitally.
Jez Corden over at Windows Central showed this screenshot today to demonstrate:
As you would expect, there are some limitations to the policy which are similar to what you would find on Steam. They are:
- Games and apps are only eligible for refunds within two weeks of purchase if you have less than 2 hours of usage across all accounts on that device.
- DLC, season passes, and DLC are not eligible for self-service refunds.
- The game or app must be downloaded and launched at least once before requesting a self-service refund.
- You must wait at least one day after the game or app’s launch before requesting a refund.
- Certain Windows 10 apps may not be eligible for a self-service refund. Presumably at developer’s requests.
- Microsoft emphasizes that it reserves the right to block access for users who abuse self-service refunds. So, people who repeatedly purchase, then refund games simply to test them out are likely to find themselves with a ban.
Our Take
This is a policy that is overdue in our opinion and one we hope to see Sony implement soon on the PlayStation platform(s). With digital purchases accounting for a larger percentage of game sales year over year, this only makes sense for consumers.
