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How long does a steam refund typically take?

A game I got on the 14th is still sitting there telling me it has “a pending refund request for this product”.

Am I just too antsy? I thought this would be an automated process.

Has anyone got a time-frame this could take? Being rather new to the Steam world, its all a mystery to me.

Thanks for any help!

nihilx7E3 ,
@nihilx7E3@beehaw.org avatar

I thought this would be an automated process.

not entirely. while steam does auto approve refunds for games that are both owned less than 14 days & played less than 2 hours (not sure if this part is automated or if they train staff to just glance at the playtime & click refund in their ticket system), they still have a refund department to vet & process refunds that fall outside of that category. they’ll send you an email if what you’re refunding doesn’t fit the criteria for automatic approval:

Valve will, upon request via help.steampowered.com, issue a refund for any title that is requested within 14 days of purchase and has been played for less than 2 hours (this includes online, offline and shared library playtime).

if you played the game for over 2 hours, even if it’s just by one minute, your request is gonna be in limbo for a while until a support team member gets to it. i’ve had it happen a few times over the years & in my experience it takes anywhere from like 1 or 2 days to as many as 5, depending on how busy it is (steam sales seem to slow them down). i’ve also heard from some on the steam community that even when a refund is auto approved it can sometimes still get stuck in the system for a few days.

followthewhiterabbit OP ,

That’s the strange part. A few days old and a total of 4 minutes play-time!

I just hope its maybe stuck in the system, like you said, for a few days.

I can’t be frustrated, because the system exists for our benefit, I think I’m just mystified why it is taking some time!

nihilx7E3 ,
@nihilx7E3@beehaw.org avatar

yeah, i’d contact steam if it’s really bothering you but otherwise just wait. steam support is one of the chillest cs teams i’ve ever dealt with so you shouldn’t have any problem either way. also keep in mind a few popular games are on sale atm so they might just be processing some more than usual

followthewhiterabbit OP ,

Yep, it was 100% a ‘bigger’ game, so I’m sure I’m just stuck somewhere in the mix. Everything I click in the support pages just takes me back to my already requested request for a refund, so can’t even reach any live chat support.

My main take-away is to just be patient (it’s so not in my nature!)

Appreciate your input and help by the way!

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