How to Refund a Gift on Steam: a Step-by-Step Guide

Steam is an online video game distribution service offered and owned by the parent company, video game developer Valve. Steam offers digital rights management (DRM), video streaming, and social networking services to its users.

The company is considered the largest digital distribution platform and retailer for PC gaming. In 2017, they reported that their game sales revenue reached a staggering 4.3 billion U.S. dollars.

Can You Obtain a Refund on a Gifted Steam Game?

Yes, you can. You can get a full refund on any Steam game within 14 days of the purchase, provided that it has been played for two hours or less. This also applies to games sent as gifts to other people, but the gift recipient must initiate the refund request.

How to Get a Refund for a Gifted Game on Steam

If the recipient of the game hasn’t redeemed their gift, make sure to ask for your money back within 14 days of purchase. If they have redeemed the game, you can still demand a refund provided that not more than 14 days have passed since the purchase and that the recipient didn’t play the game for longer than two hours.

The gift recipient has to start the refund process. Once they have completed their part, the person who made the purchase has to follow the standard Steam procedure to get their cash back.

Here is how you can go about it:

Can you request a refund via	Yes / No
DoNotPay	Yes
Email	No
Phone	No
Letter	No
Website	Yes
In-person	No

Request a Refund on the Steam Website as the Receiver of the Gift

To help the person who bought the gift obtain a refund, follow the next steps:

Visit Steam Support and sign in
Go to Games and Software
Select the gifted game from the list
Choose the issue with the game
Click on I’d Like to Request a Refund
Confirm that the original Steam game purchaser should receive a refund

Request a Refund on the Steam Website as the Buyer of the Gift

Once the person you bought the gift for does their part, you can request your money back. Here is what you need to do:

Visit Steam Support and sign in
Go to Purchases
Select the gifted game from the list. If the game doesn’t appear here, you are probably not eligible to receive a refund for it
Choose a reason why you want the refund
Hit I’d Like to Request a Refund
Choose the refund method (i.e., the debit/credit card you used for the purchase, or simply transfer the amount to your Steam Wallet)
You will receive a confirmation email from Steam that your request has been received

How DoNotPay Can Help You Get Your Steam Refund?

What if Steam doesn’t budge, and you can’t secure your money back? One word—DoNotPay. The process of getting your refund through our app is much simpler than going through the whole ordeal on the Steam website by yourself.

All you need to do is:

Open the DoNotPay app in your
Click on Get Protected under the File a Chargeback icon
Provide answers to our chatbot’s questions (this part includes some information about your bank and the merchant you need the refund from)
Verify your signature
Submit the request

Once it collects all the key details from you, DoNotPay gets in touch with your bank and requests your money back. To bolster the chances of obtaining a refund, DoNotPay also cites the relevant VISA and Mastercard codes and regulations that pertain to your case.

If you prefer to contact Steam without involving the bank, DoNotPay can reach out to them on your behalf, too.

What Is Steam’s Refund Policy?

With so many video games to choose from, it can be tricky to hand-pick only the ones you’ll enjoy the most—particularly if a demo isn’t available. For this reason, Steam has a pretty straightforward refund policy. It guarantees that you’ll receive your dollars back if the game you purchased doesn’t give you much of a kick. Let’s hear it from Steam:

“You can request a refund for nearly any purchase on Steam—for any reason. Maybe your PC doesn’t meet the hardware requirements; maybe you bought a game by mistake; maybe you played the title for an hour and just didn’t like it.

It doesn’t matter. Valve will, upon request via help.steampowered.com, issue a refund for any reason, if the request is made within the required return period, and, in the case of games, if the title has been played for less than two hours. There are more details below, but even if you fall outside of the refund rules we’ve described, you can ask for a refund anyway, and we’ll take a look.”

The company might make an exception to their standard refund policy in some rare instances. For example, when there is a major, disruptive bug in a game, or a game has been pulled from the Steam store.

You can submit any number of refund requests. If Steam thinks that you are abusing the refund system, they reserve the right to revoke your future ability to claim money back.

How Long Does a Steam Refund Take?

Steam’s customer service team can take up to two weeks to process your request. In the case of a favorable outcome, it might be a week or more until the money shows up on your original method of payment.

Refunds to international payment methods may take longer. If your refund isn’t in your bank account after seven days, you should contact your bank directly and inquire about any pending returns on your account.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When Does Steam Offer Refunds?

You can request a refund for any purchases and for any reason. Valve will issue a refund as long as the request is made within the required return period.

What's Steam's Return Period for Games?

Steam will issue a full refund if the game has been played for less than 2 hours.

What's the Fastest Way to Get a Steam Refund?

The fastest way to request a Steam refund is through their support portal or DoNotPay's File a Chargeback product.

Is it possible to get a refund for a gifted Steam game and have the purchaser receive their money back?

Yes, the person who gifted you the game will receive a refund in their Steam wallet if you request a refund within 14 days of purchase or if you have played the game for less than 2 hours.

Can I get a refund for a Steam gift card?

If your friend declines the Steam gift card, then you will be refunded to your original payment method.