Self-service
Refunds for digital games have been a pretty dour situation for a long time. When Valve announced it was finally implementing returns for Steam purchases, it was a big win for digital marketplaces. As for console marketplaces, though, you’ve basically had to prove your case before the idea of a refund would even be entertained. It wasn’t impossible, but the hoops you needed to jump through were ridiculous.
That won’t be the case in a few months for Xbox users. According to a Reddit post, the newest Xbox Dashboard preview has a feature for “Self-Service” refunds. This allows you to issue a refund for any purchase provided you’ve played less than two hours and its been 14 days since purchase (the same policy Steam has). Everything is automated, so you won’t need to wait for approval.
The obvious exceptions include DLC and season passes. Microsoft also notes that “certain” Windows 10 apps won’t be eligible for refunds (probably Office 365, that piece of garbage). Microsoft also warns that refunds can be rejected if they believe a user is abusing the system, so you won’t be getting free demos out of this.
This is great news, even if the policy is a bit strict. Having some kind of recourse for shoddy purchases or flat out bad games is a bonus. I’m just curious how things like “Gold” or “Limited” editions will work where the season pass is included in the purchase. Also, I’d love if we could get a digital return that doesn’t automatically give me marketplace credit in lieu of returning my money.
The steps to get a refund are as follows (credit to Redditor Chickern):
- Navigate to account.microsoft.com and sign-in.
- From the top menu bar, select Payment & billing > Order history.
- Navigate to a purchased game or app, and select Request a refund.
Please note the below conditions for requesting a self-service refund:
- Games and apps are eligible for self-service refunds within 14 days of purchase if you have less than 2 hours of play time across all accounts.
- DLC, season passes, and add-ons are not eligible for self-service refunds.
- The game or app must be downloaded and launched before requesting a self-service refund.
- You must wait for at least 1 day after the game or app’s release before requesting a self-service refund.
- Certain Windows 10 apps may not be eligible for self-service refunds.
- Microsoft reserves the right to block access for users who abuse self-service refunds.
Self-Service Refunds are finally here For Xbox One & Windows 10 [Reddit]