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If a PC game crashes, stutters, or is effectively unplayable, request a refund from the store or seller that processed your payment. Find the receipt or transaction first, check that seller’s current deadline and playtime rule, and submit the request promptly. A technical failure explains why you are asking, but it does not automatically guarantee approval.
The three major PC storefronts covered here use different policies: Steam and the Epic Games Store generally use a 14-day and under-two-hour standard, while GOG publishes a 30-day window that can include a game you downloaded, launched, and played. Purchases made through a key reseller, another launcher, or a different country’s storefront follow the seller’s own terms and applicable consumer law.
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Start with the seller, not the game developer
The company that accepted your payment controls the normal refund process. A crash report sent to a publisher does not replace a store refund request. Check your bank or card statement, email receipt, or account transaction history and identify the merchant of record.
- Steam checkout: use Steam Support and select the purchase.
- Epic Games Store checkout: use the transaction’s refund action when the purchase is self-refundable, or contact Player Support when the listing is refundable.
- GOG checkout: open Order History and choose “Ask for a refund”; technical problems can also be sent to GOG Tech Support.
- Key reseller or another website: ask that seller. Steam says Valve cannot refund purchases made outside Steam, and Epic says purchases outside its store are governed by the point-of-purchase policy.
Do not delay the store request while you perform a long troubleshooting project. You can provide troubleshooting details later, but a missed deadline is harder to recover than a concise request filed early.
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Refund rules at a glance
| Store | Published standard | Playtime treatment | Technical-problem route | Purchase-channel condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam | Within 14 days of purchase | Less than 2 hours; Early Access time counts | Submit through Steam Support; Valve may review requests outside the standard | Only purchases processed by Steam; external keys must be taken to their seller |
| Epic Games Store (PC/Mac) | Within 14 days | Under 2 hours of runtime | Self-refundable purchases use the account transaction tool; refundable purchases go to Player Support | The purchase must be marked refundable or self-refundable; some products are excluded |
| GOG | Request within 30 days of purchase | Policy allows requests after downloading, launching, and playing | Use “Ask for a refund”; contact Tech Support for a technical issue | Applies to purchases made through GOG under its published voluntary policy |
These are storefront policies, not a universal legal rule. Steam notes that some jurisdictions may provide additional rights for faulty games, and Epic says its policy does not limit statutory rights. The policy pages do not publish a reliable approval percentage for crash-related requests.
How to request a Steam refund
Check the standard window
Steam’s normal offer for a game is a request within two weeks of purchase with less than two hours of playtime. The refund page was last updated April 23, 2024, so check the live policy before submitting. Download time is not the same as playtime, but Early Access playtime counts toward the two-hour limit.
Submit through Steam Support
- Sign in at help.steampowered.com.
- Open your purchases and select the game that is crashing or performing badly.
- Choose the refund option and select the destination offered for your payment method: the original payment method or Steam Wallet.
- Describe the failure in concrete terms, then submit the request and save the confirmation.
Use a short, factual explanation: identify the crash frequency, when it occurs, and whether the game is unplayable or has severe stutter. Do not claim that you completed tests or contacted support if you did not.
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Still submit a request when the game is defective. Valve says customers outside the stated rules can ask and the request will be reviewed, but that statement is not a promise of approval. Explain that the problem became apparent only after launch, or that the game cannot run acceptably on your system. An approved Steam refund is issued within a week, either to Steam Wallet or the original payment method, depending on that payment method.
Special timing cases
- Unreleased pre-purchase: the ordinary period is treated separately; for an unreleased game, the standard period starts when the game is released.
- Early Access: time played before release is included in the two-hour calculation.
- External activation key: Steam cannot return money it did not collect. Use the reseller’s process instead.
How to request an Epic Games Store refund
Confirm the eligibility label
For PC and Mac games, Epic’s standard is a request within 14 days with less than two hours of runtime, and the transaction must be labeled “refundable” or “self-refundable.” A listing marked non-refundable is treated differently. Virtual currency, consumables, and purchases made outside Epic checkout can also be excluded or subject to separate rules.
Use the correct Epic route
- Sign in to your Epic account.
- Open Account, then Transactions, and select the affected purchase.
- If the transaction is marked self-refundable, use the refund action shown in the transaction details.
- If it is marked refundable but has no self-service action, contact Epic Player Support and provide the order information.
- State that the product crashes or performs unacceptably, include the purchase date and approximate runtime, and retain the case number.
Epic says a refund can take up to 30 days depending on the payment method. In some regions, an Epic account-balance refund may be available. The exact destination and timing shown during your request control the transaction.
Pre-orders, bans, and policy abuse
An unreleased pre-order may be refundable before release. After release, the ordinary eligibility rules apply. Epic may deny a request when an account was banned, the customer violated the terms, or the refund system was abused. Describe the actual technical problem accurately; do not repeatedly buy, play, and return games as a test.
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How to request a GOG refund
Use the 30-day policy
GOG’s published voluntary policy accepts a request within 30 days of purchase even when the product was downloaded, launched, and played. That makes the policy materially different from stores that use a short playtime threshold.
File from Order History
- Sign in to your GOG account and open Order History.
- Find the order containing the game.
- Select Ask for a refund and complete the request form.
- For a crash, launch failure, or serious performance problem, open a Tech Support case as well and keep the case details.
GOG’s support guidance says that when a technical issue cannot be solved within the 30-day period, a full refund will be offered. Keep the request inside that period even if support is still investigating. GOG also says it may refuse an individual case when it believes the policy is being used to harm developers.
What to include in the request
A refund agent needs enough information to identify the transaction and understand why the product is not acceptable. Include:
- Game title and order or transaction identifier.
- Purchase date and the account or email used at checkout.
- Approximate playtime or runtime, if the storefront asks for it.
- Your operating system and a brief description of the hardware only when it helps explain the failure.
- The symptom: for example, “closes to desktop during the opening scene,” “freezes every few minutes,” or “frame rate remains too low for normal play.”
- When the problem began and whether it happens consistently or at a particular menu, level, or loading screen.
- Any support case number or crash-log reference that actually exists.
Keep the explanation neutral and specific. “The game is broken” gives the reviewer little to assess; “It crashes to desktop within five minutes on every launch after the latest update” is more useful. Do not exaggerate, invent hardware, or state that a fix failed unless you tried it.
A concise request template
Game: [game title] Purchase date: [date] Order or transaction ID: [ID] Approximate playtime: [time] Problem: [what happens and when] Impact: The game is not playable or performs below an acceptable level on my PC. Request: Please review this purchase for a refund.
Replace each bracketed field with your actual information before sending. The template is intentionally short; attach logs or longer troubleshooting history only when the seller asks for it.
What counts as a convincing technical explanation
Crashes
Record whether the crash occurs at startup, during loading, after a fixed amount of play, or only in a particular mode. Note whether the game returns to the desktop, locks the entire computer, or shows an error. A repeatable pattern is more useful than a long list of unrelated fixes.
Severe performance problems
Describe the effect on play rather than relying on a number alone: persistent stutter, input delay, freezes, or frame pacing that makes normal control impossible. If you know the settings and resolution involved, include them. Avoid presenting one unusually low frame-rate reading as proof of a universal defect.
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Connection and server failures
Explain whether the problem is present every time, limited to online features, or caused by a service outage. The store may treat a temporary outage differently from a product that cannot launch, so identify the distinction.
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- Identify the merchant. Match the order number to the storefront account or the seller named on your payment statement.
- Check the clock. Count from the purchase date for ordinary purchases. For an unreleased Steam pre-purchase, the standard period starts at release; Epic treats an unreleased pre-order separately until release.
- Check recorded use. Steam and Epic use two hours as the ordinary ceiling, while Steam includes Early Access time. GOG’s published window does not exclude a downloaded, launched, or played title.
- Check the product type and label. Epic’s refundable or self-refundable designation matters, and virtual currency or consumables may follow different rules.
- File first, investigate second. Submit a truthful request while eligible, then answer technical questions or run requested tests.
This sequence prevents a common mistake: spending days trying every graphics setting and discovering that the normal request window expired. A refund request can explain that you have not completed every possible fix; it does not require you to prove a universal defect.
When the request is denied
Read the reason before replying
A denial may reflect a missed deadline, excessive recorded playtime, an ineligible product type, a payment-method restriction, or a purchase made elsewhere. Correct a factual mistake with the receipt, transaction time, or support case number. Do not send repeated identical tickets without new information.
Ask for a manual review when the store allows it
For Steam, submit a clear request even when the standard threshold has passed; Valve says such requests can still be reviewed. For Epic, use Player Support when a transaction is refundable but lacks a self-service button. For GOG, keep the technical-support case open within the published period and explain that the issue remains unresolved.
Check statutory rights
Storefront policies are voluntary rules and do not settle every country’s consumer-protection question. If the game is materially faulty, check the consumer authority or official guidance for the country where you bought it. Keep the receipt, screenshots, crash information, and all support correspondence. Do not assume that a right in one country applies worldwide.
Common mistakes that reduce your options
- Contacting the wrong company: a key seller, console marketplace, or publisher launcher may be the merchant, not Steam or Epic.
- Waiting for a perfect diagnosis: file before the applicable window closes, then troubleshoot if support requests more detail.
- Ignoring labels: Epic’s “refundable” and “self-refundable” designations determine which route is available.
- Forgetting Early Access time: Steam counts it toward the playtime limit.
- Using a false reason: inaccurate claims can be treated as abuse and undermine a legitimate request.
- Deleting evidence: retain receipts, order IDs, support replies, and any error message until the case is closed.
What to do while the request is pending
Stop launching the game repeatedly if additional runtime could affect eligibility. Preserve the installed files and logs unless the seller asks you to remove them. If you need the storage space, document the error and transaction first, then follow the seller’s instructions. Do not charge back a card payment merely because a normal refund is slow; a chargeback can create an account dispute and should be reserved for an unresolved payment problem after you understand the seller’s process.
Once the seller approves the refund, watch the original payment account or the store balance for the stated processing period. A bank or card issuer may display the credit later than the store marks the refund complete.
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How the three policies differ in practice
Steam and Epic are alike on the headline rule—14 days and under two hours—but their workflows are not interchangeable. Steam sends every request through Steam Support and can review an out-of-window request. Epic first asks you to check the transaction label: self-refundable purchases can be handled in the account page, while refundable purchases require Player Support. Epic also states that processing may take up to 30 days depending on the payment method.
GOG is the outlier on timing and playtime. Its published voluntary policy allows a request within 30 days even after download, launch, and play. For a technical fault, GOG directs you to Tech Support and says a full refund will be offered if the issue cannot be solved within that 30-day period. That does not mean every case is automatic: GOG reserves the ability to refuse an individual request if it believes the policy is being used to harm developers.
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After you submit
Save the confirmation page, ticket number, and the exact description you sent. If support asks for logs, provide only files relevant to the failure and remove personal information where practical. Avoid adding hours of play while waiting, particularly when you are near Steam’s or Epic’s two-hour threshold. If the store approves the refund, check whether it is going to the original payment method or a store balance and allow for the stated processing time. If the credit does not appear after that period, contact the store first with the approval reference, then ask the payment provider to trace the transaction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a refund if my PC game keeps crashing?
A crash is a valid reason to explain a request, but it does not guarantee approval. The seller’s deadline, recorded playtime, product eligibility, and purchase channel still control the normal decision. File promptly and describe the repeatable failure accurately.
How many hours can I play before requesting a refund?
Steam’s standard is less than two hours, and Early Access time counts. Epic’s PC and Mac standard is under two hours of runtime. GOG’s published policy allows a request within 30 days even after a game was downloaded, launched, and played.
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What if I bought a Steam key from another website?
Steam says Valve cannot refund purchases made outside Steam because it did not process the payment. Use the key reseller’s refund procedure and keep that seller’s receipt and order number.
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What is the difference between refundable and self-refundable on Epic?
A self-refundable Epic purchase normally shows a refund action in Account, Transactions. A purchase marked refundable but without that self-service action requires contact with Epic Player Support. Non-refundable products and some consumables or virtual currency follow different rules.
Does GOG require me to contact support before asking for a refund?
For a technical problem, GOG directs customers to Tech Support. You can also start from Order History with “Ask for a refund.” GOG says it will offer a full refund when it cannot solve the technical issue within the 30-day period.
Can Steam review a request after 14 days or two hours?
Yes. Valve says customers outside the stated rules can still ask and the request will be reviewed. That is an opportunity for consideration, not a promise that the refund will be approved.
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Steam says approved refunds are issued within a week to Steam Wallet or the original payment method, depending on the payment method. Epic says processing can take up to 30 days depending on the payment method. Your bank may display the credit later.
Do consumer laws give me more rights than a store policy?
Possibly. Steam notes that some jurisdictions provide additional rights for faulty games, and Epic says its policy does not limit statutory rights. Check official consumer guidance for the country where you bought the game rather than assuming another country’s rule applies.
The Bottom Line
Identify the seller that took your payment and submit a truthful request promptly. Steam and Epic generally use a 14-day, under-two-hour standard; GOG publishes a 30-day policy that can include played games. Keep your receipt, explain the technical failure clearly, and remember that a crash supports a request but does not guarantee approval.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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