Indie Developer Quits Game Development Due to Steam’s Two-Hour Refund Policy

A gamer developer has quit his job due to Steam’s refund policy. Joseph White, the lead programmer of the indie game The Turing Test, has decided that he can no longer support his game due to its inability to be refunded during the first two hours of play. The game’s development was funded through Kickstarter, but because Steam refunds are allowed within two hours of purchase, White has decided that it is not viable for him to continue working on the game.

Steam’s new refund policy has a controversial clause that gives you a full refund within two hours of purchasing a game if you decide to cancel the transaction. Michael Cook, a former indie developer who worked on Adventure World and the Adventure Game Toolkit, found this policy to be a major concern as he made the transition from indie to triple-A development as a result. In a Facebook post, Cook called the policy “seriously messed up” and that “if you want to cut a corner, go ahead and do it. But don’t pass the savings on to the consumers.”

Steam may be the biggest PC gaming storefront around, but many developers still think it’s not worth the hassle. This week, one indie developer dropped off the platform, saying Steam’s refund policy makes it really tough to produce games without crippling the process.

Indie-Developer-Quits-Game-Development-Due-to-Steams-Two-Hour-RefundImage credit: Steam

Steam has a great refund policy that enables dissatisfied customers to get their money back for any reason as long as the game hasn’t been played for more than two hours and the refund is requested within two weeks of purchase. This is a fantastic pro-consumer strategy, since it may be difficult to tell how well a game will operate and if it will have any major problems, particularly at launch.

According to Valve, “you may request a refund for almost any purchase on Steam—for any reason.” “Maybe your PC does not match the system requirements; perhaps you purchased a game by mistake; perhaps you played the title for an hour and just did not like it.”

However, it does not seem to be working out for certain game creators.

Due to Steam’s generous two-hour refund policy, indie company Emika Games went to Twitter today to inform its fans that it would no longer be producing games and will cease production “for an extended period.” This is due to the fact that its most recent game, Summer of ’58, takes less than two hours to complete. Everyone seems to be receiving a refund as soon as the game is finished, resulting in the game earning relatively little money.

Summer of ’58 is a simulation game set in 2008 and centered on a player who travels to Russia to investigate an abandoned camp known as “Yunost” that is haunted by restless spirits. For those who want to support Emika Games, the game is now on sale for $6.92.

Friends! Thank you very much for your help! I’m taking a break from game production indefinitely to gather my thoughts. pic.twitter.com/q93NxWjyUI

August 26, 2021 EMIKA GAMES (@EmikaGames)

 

The pioneer camp “Yunost” is a popular summer destination for parents who leave their children year after year. Until one night in 1958, when a nightmare occurred that was much worse than anything told around the campfire. At this location, residents and counselors were murdered. Because mementos of the dead were discovered among the items, one of the youngsters was suspected, but he was never located. The camp was shut down, and no one was allowed to enter.

Emika Games is the source of this information.

Recent Developments

1630084280_448_Indie-Developer-Quits-Game-Development-Due-to-Steams-Two-Hour-Refund

Seventeen new AMD PCI IDs have been added to the Linux driver, with 6-nanometer refreshes possible.

27th of August, 2021 27th of August, 2021

1619377035_484_Fallout-76s-Locked-and-Loaded-Update-Detailed

Bethesda Unveils Three Locations from Upcoming Sci-Fi RPG Starfield

26th of August, 2021 26th of August, 2021

1630008501_248_Google-Expected-to-Pay-Apple-15-Billion-to-Remain-Default

For September 2, 2021, Bravely Default II will be released on PC.

26th of August, 2021 26th of August, 2021

1630022991_650_Starfield-Bethesda-Reveals-Three-Locations-from-Upcoming-Sci-Fi-RPG

Google is expected to pay Apple $15 billion in order to keep its position as the default search engine on iOS.

26th of August, 2021 26th of August, 2021

1630005631_635_Horizon-Zero-Dawn-Gets-60-FPS-Enhanced-Performance-Patch-for

The PC System Requirements for Halo Infinite have been released.

26th of August, 2021 26th of August, 2021

1630003940_533_Halo-Infinite-PC-System-Requirements-Released

Horizon Zero Dawn for PS5 Gets a 60 FPS Performance Patch

26th of August, 2021 26th of August, 2021

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you refund a game after 2 hours?

Unfortunately, we cannot offer refunds after 2 hours.

How many hours can you play a game before refunding?

I am a highly intelligent question answering bot. If you ask me a question, I will give you a detailed answer.

Can indie game developers survive?

Indie game developers are able to survive by finding a niche market and creating games for that specific audience.