How to Refund Digital Games on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Other Platforms

When the product you buy has problems, does not meet expectations, or even buys the wrong thing, of course you want to return the item and ask for money back, aka a refund. The same is true when buying digital games.

Even though it’s not as easy as returning a game at a physical store, the digital game refund process has now been made easier by distributors, but they must follow the terms and conditions that apply first.

In this article, we will show you how to apply for a refund on various platforms, starting from PC (Steam, Epic Games, Origin, Uplay), Playstation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch. Therefore, without further ado, here are the steps:

PC

Steam

Terms and Conditions:

• Purchased games must not exceed 14 days after purchase.
• Purchased games do not exceed 2 hours of playing time.
• Games purchased before release (pre-order) can be refunded as long as the submission is made within 2 weeks after the game’s release date.
• In-app purchases (microtransactions) outside of the Steam service are non-refundable
• If the game you want to refund is a gift to a friend, the refund process must be started by the gift recipient with the same conditions as above.
• Refunds may take up to 7 days. Purchasing via Steam Wallet will probably be the fastest process because it goes through
• Valve’s payment system, but using credit, debit, and other cards can take even longer depending on the bank.
• Games that are returned because the game was discounted right after you bought it are allowed, but a full refund process will be carried out in the sense that the game will be withdrawn first and the money returned in total (which takes time as described above) and not given a return from the comparison of the discounted price with original price.

Refund Stages:

• Visit the Steam Help page ( https://help.steampowered.com/ ) and login using the account with the game you want to request a refund for.
• Then select the “purchase” menu.
• Find the game purchase you want to refund.
• Select the problem or reason for returning the game.
• Select the “I ‘d like to request a refund ” option .
• Fill out the form and give a detailed explanation of why the game wants to be returned, the more complete and convincing it is, the easier it is for Steam customer service to respond.
• You will later receive a confirmation email and only need to wait for a response, if you meet the requirements, the game will be withdrawn from your library and the refund process will be carried out.

Epic Games

Terms and Conditions:

• Purchased games must not exceed 14 days after purchase.
• Purchased games do not exceed 2 hours of playing time.
• In-app purchases (microtransactions) outside of the Epic Games service are non-refundable.
• The refund process is canceled if it is detected that you have been banned from the game.
• Games that are purchased but are immediately discounted can be refunded. The process is the same as on Steam where you have to do a full refund process before buying the game again.
• Refunds will be transferred to the pre-selected payment method. For example, if you use Paypal, it will be returned there. This process will take some time.

Refund Stages:

• Login to the EGS account with the game you want to restore.
• Click your profile name on the web page or program, then select the “ Manage Account ” option .
• Select the ” Transaction ” option or often also named ” Payment History “
• Select the game you want to restore.
• If you meet the requirements, the ” Request Refund ” option will appear .
• Select the reason for returning the game, then click confirm.
• You will get a confirmation email and the refund process will be processed immediately.

Origin

Terms and Conditions:

• Refunds can be made 24 hours after the game was first launched.
• If it has not been played at all, the game can be returned 14 days after purchase.
• If purchased before the release (pre-order), the refund process can only be submitted within 14 days after the release date.
• If the newly released game that you purchased turns out to have many technical problems beyond EA’s knowledge, the refund request period can be increased to 72 hours from the original 24 hours.
• In certain cases, game purchases in the Origin special promotion are non-refundable.
• Certain game editions that contain virtual currency may fall into the category of non-refundable games.

Refund Stages:

• Login to your Origin account and then visit the Order History page .
• Select the Game you want to restore.
• Select the ” Request Refund ” option .
• Fill in the form completely.
• You will later receive a confirmation email where the refund process will be carried out within 48 hours and the return process can take up to 10 days depending on the payment method.

Uplay (Ubisoft Connect)

Terms and Conditions:

• Games to be returned must not exceed 14 days after purchase.
• The game you want to return never launches at all
• DLC, consumables, virtual money, and other in-game store purchases are non-refundable
• Purchases of games from other distributor platforms (steam, EGS, etc.) must begin the refund process from the respective vendors.
• Returns of games that have not been released (pre-orders) can only be made before the game’s release date.

Refund Stages:

• Log in to your Ubisoft account and visit the Order History page .
• Select the Game you want to restore.
• Select the “ Ask for a Refund ” option .
• Fill in the form completely.
• Returns will be processed, money will be returned according to the payment method.

Playstation (PS4, PS5)

Terms and Conditions:

• Games, DLC, and Season Passes are refundable 14 days after purchase provided they have not been downloaded, streamed, let alone played.
• In-game items/consumeables will only be applied when you launch the game, so if you haven’t launched the game in the last 14 days, in-game items/consumeables can be refunded. If the purchase of in-game items is made in-game (example: FIFA pack), the purchase cannot be returned because it is directly transferred to the game.
• Pre-orders can be refunded as long as they are within 14 days after the transaction, and the game has not been downloaded or streamed at all.
• Game bundles can be returned, again as long as they haven’t been downloaded or streamed.
• Subscriptions can be refunded even when the service is active, but the refund will be deducted according to how long the service has been active.

Refund Stages:

• Visit the PS Refund page .
• Click Refund Chatbot
• After the chat window appears, click ” Refund Request “
• Select ” I’m Ready “
• You will be asked various things from your PSN ID to the game you want to return, don’t forget to write down the Support ID just in case
• Your application will be processed, it is possible that you will be directed to CS directly for further explanation. If you meet all the requirements, your application will be processed and the funds will be returned according to the payment method used.

Xbox (Xbox One, Xbox Series X)

Terms and Conditions:

• The refund process is only valid within 14 days after purchase.
• Pre-orders may be canceled prior to game release.
• If what you want to return is a gift for a friend, it can be done as long as it is not a code that has been used. Once used, the refund cannot be continued.
• In-game items/consumables can be returned provided they have not been used or modified
• There are many unwritten rules that are not conveyed by Microsoft, so we can’t be sure what the rules are other than what we wrote above.

Refund Stages:

• Login at the following link with a Microsoft/Xbox account
• Select the order you want to return. If it does not appear, then the game or content purchased is either not included in the transaction list or cannot be returned. Wait a few hours or even the next day to be sure.
• Select the option ” Request Refund “
• Choose the reason for the return and a detailed explanation of why you want it returned
• Refunds will be processed and if received, they will be returned within 3-5 working days or even more depending on the payment method.

Nintendo (Nintendo Switch)

Unfortunately, at the time this article was written, Nintendo did not implement a refund system even for wrong purchases or problematic games. Nintendo only persuades buyers to be more careful and check gaming review websites before buying a game on the eShop because every purchase is a final decision.

Even though Nintendo says so, many gamers admit that they managed to get a refund at least once, namely through Customer Support . So if you make an accidental purchase or other reasonable reason, there may be an opportunity from CS Nintendo to process a refund, but that also cannot be a definite benchmark.

Nintendo, your games and consoles are great, but this kind of service is really disappointing.