Steam's more-than-generous refund policy is under scrutiny from the developer behind Paddle Paddle Paddle, a game heavily inspired by the "Foddian" genre. These games are designed specifically to frustrate players and are often popular with content creators because of the reactions they generate. I actually own Paddle Paddle Paddle myself and have played it with a friend. It's a co-op game where you paddle a boat through increasingly frustrating obstacles as you make your way downstream.
The game was created by solo developer Zoroarts, who has taken to X to criticize Steam's refund policy after claiming the game has been heavily affected by it, with more than 55,000 refunds. For those unfamiliar, Valve's refund policy generally allows users to refund a game within 14 days of purchase, provided they've played it for less than two hours. On X, the developer argued:
After spotting a review that read, "GREAT GAME, finished within 1:40 hrs (refunded)," the developer took to X to criticize Steam's refund policy, writing:
"This should not be possible @Steam Would be cool if you could finally do something about your refund policy... Got dozens of reviews like that and 21% refund rate even though the Reviews are 90% very positive... Thats over 55,000 Refunds btw..."
Many reviews, including some that recommend the game, openly admit they completed it and then refunded it because they finished within the two-hour window. That does feel a little disingenuous, especially if they genuinely enjoyed the experience. Since the developer spoke out, however, some users have also started leaving negative reviews that appear to focus just as much on his comments as the game itself.
One user wrote:
"Not fun, Short, Sloppy. Beat it under 2 hours and would refund if I could but waited too long to play it, you should if you can"
Another added:
"The Dev keeps crying about his game getting refunded on X despite making "millions" out of a sloppy effort"
Having actually played the game myself and genuinely enjoying it, I decided to keep it, and I do think the developer should look at releasing the game on consoles like Xbox or Nintendo Switch. I will say, though, overall, I think Steam's refund policy is a good one, even if this situation highlights one of its weaknesses.
Personally, I don't think players should be able to complete an entire game and then immediately refund it. That said, I'm not entirely sure how Valve could solve that problem without creating new ones. One idea could be tying refunds to achievements, but that would simply encourage some developers to avoid adding achievements that mark the end of a game.
Perhaps Valve could instead adjust the refund window based on a game's typical completion time or even its price. For example, lower-priced games that can reasonably be completed in a short sitting could have a one-hour refund window instead of two. Even that isn't a perfect solution, though, and it's easy to see how developers could try to design around whatever rules Valve introduces.
Those are just my thoughts, though. I'd love to hear what you think, so let me know in the comments and be sure to take part in our poll above.
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