How to refund a game on Steam: 14 days, 2 hours and how to request it

Steam refunds a game if you request it within 14 days of purchase and have played it for less than 2 hours. That covers almost any purchase, and the reason is up to you: your PC does not meet the requirements, you bought it by mistake, or you were bored after an hour. Below you will find how to request a refund, the rules for DLC, gifts, pre-purchases and subscriptions, and when the money arrives. This is based on Valve’s refund policy, last updated on 23 April 2024, and was checked on 20 October 2026.

The basic rule: 14 days and 2 hours

Both conditions apply at the same time. The request has to come within 14 days of purchase and your playtime has to be under two hours. If you miss one of them, you can still ask. Valve will then review the request manually, but a refund is not guaranteed.

The full wording is on the official Steam Refunds page. Hardware such as the Steam Deck has its own hardware order terms, which this guide does not cover.

How to request a Steam refund

Refunds are requested through Steam Support at help.steampowered.com. The steps below are the ones PC Gamer and TechRadar both describe:

1. Log in to help.steampowered.com with your Steam account.
2. Click Purchases to see a list of your recent purchases.
3. Select the game you want to refund.
4. Choose I would like a refund.
5. On the next menu, select I'd like to request a refund.
6. Pick where the money should go: your Steam Wallet or the original payment method.
7. Explain why you want the refund and send the request.

If you are outside the 14-day or 2-hour window, make your reason as specific as you can, because Valve reviews those requests by hand.

Refund windows by purchase type

The 14-day, 2-hour rule applies to games and software. Other purchases follow different rules:

What you bought	Window	Condition
Game or software	14 days from purchase	played less than 2 hours
DLC	14 days from purchase	base game played no more than 2 hours since the DLC was bought, and the content was not consumed, modified or transferred
In-game purchase in a Valve game	48 hours from purchase	item not consumed, modified or transferred
In-game purchase in another company’s game	only if the game says so explicitly	the game’s own rules
Pre-purchase	any time before release	after release, the usual 14 days and 2 hours
Early Access	14 days from purchase	under 2 hours of play, like any other game
Steam Wallet funds	14 days from purchase	none of the funds have been spent
Steam subscription	48 hours from purchase or renewal	not used in the current period
Bundle	14 days from purchase	nothing transferred and total playtime across all games in the bundle under 2 hours
Unredeemed gift	14 days from purchase	under 2 hours

Third-party DLC

Some DLC from other publishers cannot be refunded, for example DLC that permanently raises a character’s level. Steam warns you before you buy it.

Pre-purchases and Advance Access

You can refund a pre-purchased game at any time before it comes out. For pre-purchases, the 14-day window starts on release day. Be careful with Advance Access and Early Access: any time you play counts towards the 2-hour limit right away.

Subscriptions

You can cancel a subscription bought on Steam at any time in your account details, and you keep access until the end of the paid period. Steam only refunds it within 48 hours of the purchase or automatic renewal, and only if you have not used it in the current period.

Gifts

An unredeemed gift follows the normal rules. Once the recipient has redeemed it, they have to request the refund themselves, but the money goes back to the person who bought it.

When you cannot get a refund

• Purchases outside Steam: retail copies, Steam Wallet codes and keys from other stores are not refunded by Valve.
• VAC bans: a VAC ban in a game means you lose the right to a refund for that game.
• Movies and TV: videos are not refundable unless they came in a bundle with refundable content.
• Abuse: if you use refunds as a way to play games for free, Valve can decline your requests and stop you from making new ones.

Consoles have their own rules. We cover them in our guides to PS Store refunds and Xbox game refunds.

When and where the money arrives

Once approved, Valve refunds the full amount within one week. The money goes either to your Steam Wallet or back to the payment method you used. If the original method cannot take it, it ends up in your Steam Wallet.

Some payment methods do not support refunds at all, so money paid with them can only go to the Steam Wallet. Valve keeps a list by country on its refund payment methods page.

Refunds and sales

Bought a game at full price and it went on sale a few days later? You can refund it and buy it again at the lower price, as long as you are within 14 days and 2 hours. Valve’s policy says explicitly that this is not abuse. To see when discounts are coming, check our Steam sale dates.

What EU law says

On its page on EU customer rights, Valve explains that the legal right to withdraw from a digital content purchase ends 14 days after purchase or as soon as you start downloading the game, whichever comes first. Steam’s two hours of playtime are therefore voluntarily more generous than the law. This is not legal advice, just a summary of what Valve says.

People in your household can play games you own through Steam Families. The game still belongs to the person who bought it.

Join our Discord and ask other players how their refund requests went: GamersTogether Discord.

FAQ

Information verified on 20 October 2026. More guides to stores and subscriptions are in our Platforms & Services section.