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Steam closes refund policy loophole to stop Advanced Access gamers taking huge advantage

Online games store Steam moves to close a loophole in its refund policy that has been exploited to allow gamers to play many hours for free.

Until now there has been one slight caveat in that the two hours only start kicking in once a game is “released” properly, any advance access paid for as part of a premium edition has not counted. This has led to enough people gaming the system, ie buying a premium edition, playing it solidly for the three-day access period ranking up in some cases 30-50 hours of gameplay, and then refunding it on launch day. Having spent time as Head of Communications at a professional sports club and working for high-profile charities such as the National Literacy Trust, he returned as Managing Editor in charge of large US-based technology websites in 2020.

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