00:00What would be a fair refund policy for video games?
00:03It's hard to nail it down.
00:05Steam's refund policy lets players get a full refund on most games, as long as they
00:10request it within 14 days of purchase and have played for less than two hours.
00:14But here's the problem.
00:16What if your game is short, say, under two hours long?
00:19This is an issue currently faced by indie game Paddle Paddle Paddle, where solo developer
00:24Zoroartz has had over 55,000 players refund his short game and even brag about it in reviews.
00:31He shared a screenshot of a review, calling Paddle Paddle Paddle a great game, but notes
00:36that it was completed in less than two hours, so the person refunded it.
00:40Zoroartz states this should not be possible Steam, got dozens of reviews like that and
00:4521% refund rates even though the reviews are 90% very positive.
00:50It's a small project designed to be played in an afternoon and then replayed after for
00:54better times and such, but because of Valve's blanket policy, someone can take it back without
00:59question after a single playthrough.
01:02There's a fundamental dissonance at work here, and it's costing small teams genuine sales.
01:07If this has you curious, Paddle Paddle Paddle is currently 40% off, just don't return it
01:11if you actually like it.
