Steam Now Allows Refunds for EU Users, Demands Disclosure of Paid User Promotions

Digital distribution service Steam has updated its subscriber agreement for European users. Now, if you purchase games on Steam and are in the European Union, there's a 14-day period within which you can obtain a refund on what you bought.

"If you are an EU subscriber, you have the right to withdraw from a purchase transaction for digital content without charge and without giving any reason for a duration of fourteen days or until Valve's performance of its obligations has begun with your prior express consent and your acknowledgement that you thereby lose your right of withdrawal, whichever happens sooner. Therefore, you will be informed during the checkout process when out performance starts and asked to provide your prior express content to the purchase being final," the subscriber agreement reads.

For other territories like India, Steam's policies for refunds are to dole them out on a case by case basis. If you have pre-ordered a game, you can cancel your pre-order automatically and receive the refund in your Steam wallet. Or if an already released game is subject to community ire and the developers agree to it, refunds may be granted post-release as in the case with Ubisoft's From Dust.

In other Steam-related news, the service now requires public disclosure in the event users are compensated for a review, forum post, broadcast curation, or uprooting a game on Greenlight.

"If you use Steam services (e.g. the Steam Curators' Lists or the Steam Broadcasting service) to promote or endorse a product, service or event in return for any kind of consideration from a third party (including non-monetary rewards such as free games), you must clearly indicate the source of such consideration to your audience," the addition to the subscriber agreement states.