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How to Get a Refund on Steam

Steam's refund system is fairly generous by digital storefront standards, but it comes with specific conditions worth knowing before you buy β€” or before you ask for your money back.

  1. 1. Check whether you're eligible

    Games purchased within the last 14 days with under 2 hours of playtime generally qualify for a refund. For pre-purchased games, the 14-day window starts on the official release date rather than the purchase date.

  2. 2. Open Steam Support

    Go to Steam's support site through the client or a browser and navigate to the purchases section.

  3. 3. Select the purchase to refund

    Find the game, DLC, or in-game purchase you want refunded in your purchase history and select it.

  4. 4. Choose a reason and submit

    Select a reason such as 'I didn't want this product,' choose how you'd like the refund issued (Steam Wallet or your original payment method), and submit the request.

  5. 5. Check the status

    You can track the request by email and through the support site; refunds are typically processed within a few days.

The 2-hour/14-day rule, and its exceptions

Steam's baseline standard is a purchase made within the last 14 days with under 2 hours of playtime, but there are notable exceptions β€” refunds may be restricted if you've already claimed and traded tradable items tied to the game, or if you've spent in-game currency. A gifted game is refunded based on the giver's original purchase, not the recipient's. Because policy details can change, it's worth double-checking the current rules on Steam's own support page before assuming a specific case qualifies.

Refunds and shared libraries

If a game is being played through Family Sharing, playtime accumulated on the borrowing account counts toward that 2-hour limit just like playtime on the owner's own account. However, only the account that actually purchased the game can submit the refund request β€” a borrowing account can't request one directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

I went over 2 hours of playtime β€” is a refund completely out of the question?

Playtime over 2 hours generally isn't eligible for an automatic refund, but if there's a specific issue, such as a technical problem that prevented normal play, you can describe it in detail when requesting a refund and it may be reviewed individually.

Do I need to manually delete the game after a refund is approved?

No β€” once a refund is approved, the game is automatically removed from your library, so there's nothing extra you need to do.