How to Refund a Game on Steam (Step by Step Guide)

To refund a game on Steam, go to help.steampowered.com, log in, select the purchase, and submit a refund request through the form, you’ll get your money back if you’re within 14 days of purchase and have under 2 hours of playtime. If you bought the wrong title, you can use the refund to gift a game on Steam? to the right person instead. The entire process takes about five minutes, and you can choose between a Steam Wallet credit or a return to your original payment method.

How to refund a game on Steam, the step-by-step guide

Follow these six steps to request a refund directly through Steam’s official help system. This is the only method Steam accepts, there’s no alternative in-client or third-party route that works for a standard refund.

1. Open your browser and go to help.steampowered.com.
2. Log in with your Steam account credentials (username and password).
3. Click on “Purchases” in the menu to see your full purchase history.
4. Find the game you want to refund and click on it, this opens a list of issues related to that product.
5. Select the problem you’re experiencing (e.g., “I purchased this by accident”), then click “I’d like to request a refund.”
6. Fill out the request form, choose whether you want the refund in your Steam Wallet or via your original payment method, and submit it.

You’ll receive a confirmation email that your request was submitted successfully. A second email will arrive once Steam has processed your refund, this is your final notification that the money is on its way.

Steam refund eligibility and the 14-day, 2-hour rule

The standard refund window is straightforward: you must request a refund within 14 days of purchase and have played the game for less than 2 hours. This applies to nearly any purchase on Steam, for any reason, whether the game doesn’t run, you don’t like it, or you bought it by mistake. Key exceptions to remember:

• Pre-orders: You can refund a pre-ordered game at any time before its release date. Once the game releases, the standard 14-day/2-hour rule kicks in.
• Early Access and Advanced Access: Playtime accumulated during Early Access or Advanced Access counts toward the 2-hour limit. However, the 14-day refund window doesn’t start until the official release date, so you could play for weeks in Early Access and still have a full 14 days after launch to request a refund.
• Outside the standard window: Even if you exceed 14 days or 2 hours, you can still submit a refund request. Steam will review it manually, and approval is not guaranteed but is possible in cases like technical issues you’ve documented.

How long does a Steam refund take to process?

Once your refund is approved, the timeline depends on where the money goes:

• Original payment method: Up to 7 days for the refund to appear in your account. International payment methods may take a few extra days.
• Steam Wallet credit: Usually appears within 24-48 hours after approval.
• Refund approved within 24 hours of purchase: Steam may not treat this as a refund at all. Instead, it automatically removes the original purchase transaction, and the charge vanishes from your bank statement. This process typically takes about 10 days, and you won’t see a separate credit line in your account.

Refund rules for DLC, in-game purchases, bundles, and Wallet funds

Steam’s refund policy extends beyond full games, but each product type has specific conditions:

• DLC: Refundable within 14 days of purchase if the underlying game has been played for less than 2 hours since the DLC was purchased, and the DLC has not been consumed, modified, or transferred.
• In-game purchases in Valve-developed games: Refundable within 48 hours of purchase, as long as the item hasn’t been consumed, modified, or transferred. Third-party developers may also offer this, but it’s at their discretion.
• Bundles: Refundable if no items in the bundle have been transferred and the combined usage time for all items is less than 2 hours.
• Steam Wallet funds: Refundable within 14 days of purchase if the funds were purchased on Steam and none of the funds have been used.

One important exclusion: if you’ve received a VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat) ban on a game, that game is not eligible for a refund under any circumstances.

What products cannot be refunded on Steam

Several categories of purchases are permanently non-refundable, regardless of timing or playtime:

• Video content: Movies and series purchased through Steam are not refundable, money spent on these videos is final.
• Purchases made outside Steam: CD keys and Steam Wallet cards bought from third-party retailers are not honored for refunds on Steam. Only purchases made directly through the Steam store qualify.
• Items after abuse detection: If Steam detects that you’re abusing the refund system (e.g., repeatedly buying and refunding games), it may revoke your access to refunds entirely. There’s no strict limit on the number of requests, but Steam reserves the right to deny future requests if abuse is apparent.
• Consumed, modified, or transferred items: Any in-game item that has been used up, altered, or sent to another account is ineligible for a refund, even if it falls within the 48-hour window for Valve games.