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What Is the Most Refunded Game on Steam

Refunds, anyone?

Steam is most likely the largest digital distribution platform for PC games, and as such, more and more developers (good and bad) are making sure that their game ends up there (sooner or later).

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Since the platform is attracting studios and publishers from all around the world, there are more great games there, but there are also more bad ones. If you happen to run into any of the games with failed promises, Steam can give you a refund according to their policy.

So, what is the most refunded game on Steam ever? Have any guesses? Keep reading to see our take on it.

Related: How to Check Steam Server Status: Is Steam Down?

What Game Has the Most Refunds on Steam

There isn’t any official data that we can relay to when it comes to the most refunded game on Steam, but it’s most probably one of these:

  • Starfield
  • No Man’s Sky
  • Cyberpunk 2077
  • The Day Before

Steam’s official refund policy will allow you to request a refund for any game within 14 days of purchase and if you played the game for less than two hours.

The above-mentioned games were all included in bigger controversies and attracted a lot of negative attention, causing a bigger number of refunds to be asked for.

Starfield

Shortly upon release, Starfield had more than 10 million players across all platforms. Now, even though many players loved it, there was a huge number of those who believed the game was unfinished and asked for a refund. The gamers complaining talked about low framerate, bugs, bad UX/UI, audio problems, etc. Some even reported that Steam gave them a refund even when they had more than 2 hours of playtime.

No Man’s Sky

No Man’s Sky, released in 2016, has had one of the biggest scandal releases out there, with masses asking for refunds not long after the game was available for purchase. Players were reporting that they got the refund even though they got more than 2 hours of game time on Steam, but the platform never accepted this as a rule, and there’s a reason to believe that many players didn’t get a refund this way. However, those that asked for a refund and were within the 2 hours frame (and there were plenty of those), got it.

When asking for a refund, players cited crashes, higher system demands than promised, and even motion sickness due to 30fps or below.

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 has a big fanbase right now (like Starfield), but at the release, the game looked rough and had many bugs. Gamers complained about low framerate, lags, and texture problems. The game was fixed and improved with later updates.

The Day Before

The story of The Day Before is one of the oddest ones I’ve seen. The game was hyped to be a survival MMO, thousands were waiting for it to drop, only for the disappointment to arrive on release. The servers were overloaded, the game was obviously unfinished, and all that led to the studio that made the game announce that it was a failure only a couple of days after its release.

The whole game was shut down, and everybody was automatically refunded for it.


We hope you know more about Steam now than you did before! Read more similar articles here: Steam Game Charges Outrageous Sum for New Game and How to Add Non-Steam Games to Steam.

Author
Image of Đorđe Ivanović
Đorđe Ivanović
Đorđe Ivanović (Djordje Ivanovic) is Managing Editor of Gamer Journalist and has been with the site since 2022. He has a BA in Journalism and five years of professional writing experience behind him, with a recent personal focus on gaming and technology niches. His GJ coverage includes WWII games, puzzle games, Path of Exile, Overwatch and other live service games. In his free time, you will find this adamant fan of Dota solving some sort of escape room games, and getting familiar with board gaming.