Changes to return rules announced and Advanced Access introduced

Who at Steam If you wanted to return a game in recent years, you usually didn't have to overcome any major hurdles – as long as you adhered to two specific ones Regulate was held. In the future, the catalog will be supplemented with a special feature, the so-called Advanced Access.

Despite the name, this is not a special form of early access, but a term chosen by Valve for games that can be played a few days before the actual release date, often combined with the purchase of a more expensive deluxe edition. such as in the case of Star Wars Outlaws. However, this Advanced Access will change from now on no longer be used to your advantage.

Steam closes return loophole

Until now, on Steam you could only play one game within fourteen days after purchase and when you less than two hours played, could give back. In the case of early access, however, this limit was overridden: Even if you played for more than two hours before the actual release, you could request a refund and have it automatically approved.

This is no longer possible with the introduction of the Advanced Access label. If you purchase a game with early access and use this period to play, this will be credited to you. If you have more than two hours of playing time by the actual release date, you can no longer request an automatic refund and instead has to hope for goodwill from Steam Support. The 14-day return period begins again according to the Steam FAQ “Only on the date of full publication”, i.e. Advanced Access does not count here. You can also request a refund at any time for pre-orders for which early access has not yet started.

But with the implementation of Advanced Access there is still another innovation: You can now write reviews on Steam with early access. This was not possible until now because the corresponding tool was only activated at the time of full release.

Speaking of Steam and Access: From Friday you can log into one of them most awaited building strategy games fall. Our Manor Lords test reveals how good it is already in Early Access beats.