Digital game refunds: what each store allows

With digital stores, buying a game takes seconds. The flip side is that when a purchase goes wrong, there's no box to return and no counter to complain at. The game may not run well on your computer, it may not be what you expected, or it may have been bought by mistake, sometimes by a child in the house. In those moments, knowing the store's rules makes all the difference, because almost all of them work with short deadlines.

This guide summarizes the policies published by the stores themselves, as they were when we checked them in November 2026. Rules change and may vary from country to country, so always check the official page before buying and before asking for a refund. Links are at the end.

Steam

Steam's policy is one of the best known. Games and software can be refunded within 14 days of purchase, as long as they have been used for less than 2 hours. The request is made through Steam's support site, and the store says it also reviews requests outside these rules. Once approved, the money comes back within a week, to the Steam Wallet or the original payment method.

• Pre-purchases: the 2-hour limit applies from the start, but the 14 days only begin at release. If you can't play before launch, you can ask for a refund at any time until release.
• Early access: all playtime counts toward the 2-hour limit.
• Downloadable content (DLC): within 14 days, if the base game has been used for no more than 2 hours since the DLC was bought and the content hasn't been consumed, modified or traded. Some content is not refundable.
• Items in Valve games: within 48 hours, if they haven't been consumed, modified or traded. In other companies' games, only when the developer enables this option, which is shown at purchase.
• Gifts: unredeemed gifts can be refunded within 14 days; the money always goes back to the buyer.
• Subscriptions: within 48 hours of purchase or renewal, if they haven't been used in that cycle.

Steam also warns that it may stop offering refunds to anyone who appears to be abusing the system. On the other hand, buying a game, seeing it go on sale, refunding it and buying it again at the lower price is not considered abuse.

Epic Games Store

Epic splits purchases into three kinds: self-refundable, refundable by request to support, and non-refundable. In general, paid games are refundable; subscriptions, in-app and in-game purchases, consumables and virtual currency usually aren't.

• On PC and Mac: within 14 days of purchase, or 14 days after release for pre-purchases, with less than 2 hours of use.
• On mobile (iOS and Android): within 2 hours of purchase.
• Self-refundable pre-purchases can be canceled at any time before release.
• Gifts: the sender can't request a refund, but the recipient can decline the gift, and the money goes back to the buyer.
• If a product goes on sale right after you bought it, you can refund it and buy it again at the lower price without it counting as abuse.

When a purchase is self-refundable, just open the transactions page of your Epic account, pick the purchase and click refund. Otherwise, the request goes through support, in the store app or the support form. The policy covers purchases made through Epic's own checkout; purchases on consoles or other mobile stores follow those stores' rules.

PlayStation Store

At the PlayStation Store, the key word is download. Games and add-ons can be canceled with a refund within 14 days of purchase, as long as you haven't started downloading or streaming the content. Faulty items are the exception. The version of the policy we checked, the United States one, also includes these details:

• Pre-orders paid more than 14 days before release can be canceled until release; those paid less than 14 days ahead, up to 14 days after payment. Note: pre-loading counts as downloading and ends refund eligibility.
• Consumables such as virtual currency bought outside the game: can be canceled within 14 days if you haven't launched the game yet. Those bought during gameplay are delivered immediately and aren't refundable unless faulty.
• Subscriptions such as PlayStation Plus: refund within 14 days of the first charge, even after using the service, possibly reduced in proportion to the time used.
• Money added to the wallet isn't refundable.

Some purchases can be refunded directly from the account's transaction history; for the rest, the route is PlayStation Support, with your Online ID, account email and product name at hand.

Xbox and Microsoft Store

Microsoft's help page on the subject says digital content, including games, add-ons and subscriptions, generally isn't refundable unless the offer or applicable law grants that right. For Xbox games and apps, the page points to the refund request form on Xbox's support site. Since the page gives no fixed deadline, it's worth asking as soon as possible and explaining the reason clearly.

Nintendo eShop

Nintendo is the most restrictive. On its United States digital products refund page, the company says payments made through Nintendo Account services are final and non-refundable, except when Nintendo authorizes it or the law requires it. The practical exception is pre-orders: according to Nintendo Australia's help article, a pre-order can be canceled if the release is 7 or more days away, through the eShop itself (user icon, Pre-Orders) or the Nintendo Account website (Funds and Payment Methods, Purchase History, Pre-Orders). With less than 7 days to go, only through customer service.

What about Brazil's Consumer Protection Code?

In Brazil, article 49 of the Consumer Protection Code (CDC) guarantees a right of withdrawal for purchases made outside a physical store, such as online: according to Idec, it's seven calendar days from receipt of the product, with no need to give a reason and a full refund through the same payment method. Store policies usually note that they don't limit the rights granted by local law.

Since the law predates digital stores, how this right applies to a game that has already been downloaded or to items already used is debated. If a store denies a request made within the deadline and you believe you're entitled to it, keep your receipts and contact your city's Procon or the consumidor.gov.br platform. This text is informational and doesn't replace advice from a lawyer or a consumer protection agency.

Tips so you don't lose your refund

• Test right away. If the game doesn't run well, you'll notice in the first few minutes, and the 2-hour and 14-day windows pass quickly.
• At the PlayStation Store, think before downloading: downloading and pre-loading end refund eligibility.
• On PC, check the minimum requirements before buying. Comparison tools help, but they're only estimates.
• Be wary of virtual currency: in almost every store, it and consumables don't come back.
• Turn on a password or approval for purchases on console and phone, especially if children use the device. It's the simplest way to avoid accidental purchases.
• Keep the confirmation email and note the date. When you ask, explain the reason in a few lines with facts, such as crashes, a duplicate purchase or a purchase made by mistake.
• Purchases from third-party stores, such as keys sold by resellers, follow the seller's rules, not the platform's.

With these rules in mind, you can buy with more peace of mind and, when something goes wrong, act within the deadline.