Microsoft to Soon Offer Steam-Inspired 'Self-Service Refunds' for Xbox One, PC Games

It seems like Microsoft has been inspired by Valve's Steam business model for games on PC as the company is following in its footsteps and will soon allow users to avail refunds on digital games (and apps) for the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs. Notably, the company will only allow users to get refund on games within 14 days of purchase, and have been played for less than 2 hours across all accounts. It has certain checks in place to ensure that the service is not misused. The 'self-service refund' feature will be available for both the Xbox Store and Windows Store (for Windows 10 PCs).

The information regarding the refunds was provided to users participating in the Xbox Insider Program, which allows users to test new features before they are rolled out to rest of the Xbox users. "You've spoken; we've listened. In support of offering gamers the freedom of choice, we're making changes to the Microsoft Store purchase experience by offering customers a simple way to instantly return digital products like games and apps through account.microsoft.com," the company said in its message.

As per the details posted on NeoGAF forum, in order to request a refund, users need to first navigate to account.microsoft.com and sign-in. Then from the top menu bar, they need to select "Payment & billing" option and go to order history. Users then need to navigate to the purchased game or app and select the option to refund.

Coming to the conditions presented by the company to be eligible to request this service, apart from the 14-day window and 2-hour gameplay conditions, Microsoft says that DLCs, season passes, and add-ons are not eligible for self-service refunds. The game or app must have been downloaded and launched before requesting a self-service refund. Moreover, users will have to wait for at least one day after the game or app's release before requesting a self-service refund.

Microsoft has mentioned that certain Windows 10 apps may not be eligible for self-service refunds. Another thing that you might need to keep in mind is that "Microsoft reserves the right to block access for users who abuse self-service refunds."

This is the first time that refunds for digital games will be offered on consoles and it can definitely be seen as a step in right direction with consumer-centric approach.