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GOG update their refund policy giving gamers more time to decide

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Today, the DRM-free store GOG announced a few changes to how they will handle refunds for games purchased through them.

In short you will now get 30 days to refund a title from GOG, which includes games currently in development which previously only gave you two weeks. Even if you've downloaded it and played it, GOG say if it's within 30 days of asking they will give you a refund.

A good policy, 30 days is a pretty good amount of time to refund a game. However, it can be open to abuse of course. Sounds like they will keep an eye on people doing it often though, as they said "we reserve the right to refuse refunds in individual cases".

With how they're handling them now, this might actually be the most consumer-friendly refund practice for an online store. From looking it over it definitely seems better than Steam, Humble and itch in terms of how friendly it's presented. Steam is locked down to two hours playtime and two weeks, Humble Store don't give a timeline on it but they do accept refunds of course (they've refunded me personally multiple times), itch.io also don't state if there's a particular amount of time, Epic Game Store is the same as Steam and Origin is also two weeks and without playing any.

See their announcement here and FAQ here.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: DRM-Free, GOG
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7 comments

Ehvis Feb 26, 2020
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I've always wondered about the return policy for a store like GoG. They can remove a product from an account, but there is no way to remove it from the actual computer. The potential for abuse was always there and it's very likely that it happens. I can't begin to guess how common it is. On the other hand, it doesn't make much of a difference compared to people getting it "elsewhere". Except that it might save a bit on other types of fraud.
Pit Feb 26, 2020
That's indeed a HUGE grace period, IMHO. I hope it doesn't get abused. But if they do this, they seem to have enough insight about the (current) amount of fraud.

TBH, I never bothered to request a refund so far. There are games I bought, and that I didn't like when actually playing. Booked as 'experience'. And maybe, if I look at them again in future, I might eventually like them? Happened with a few (Music) CDs, too...

But if it increases their reputation, that's great. By now, GOG is my only real source for games, I wouldn't like them to go away....
Pangaea Feb 26, 2020
Very cool change. Hopefully people don't abuse it. GOG is the only store I buy games nowadays, so this is good news (although I've never requested a refund anywhere before).
g000h Feb 26, 2020
I doubt it is going to be abused much. People who don't want to pay for games pick up the game pirated instead. This encourages people to buy the game confident that if they don't like it, then they can return it. Surely this will be helpful for GOG sales.
vector Feb 26, 2020
Well, I'm going to chime in with a GOG refund story. I purchased Sudden Strike 4 and its available DLC on GOG.com. As with many games, SS4 was later given a definitive/gold edition called Sudden Strike 4: Complete Collection. The Complete Collection includes a Battle of Kursk skirmish map, which had previously only been available to those who preordered the original release. I contacted Kalypso Media to see if the Battle of Kursk DLC would be made available for purchase to those who neither preordered the original release nor purchased the Complete Collection. I was informed it wouldn't be.

I then contacted GOG support and explained the situation, and I asked for a refund to my GOG Wallet for SS4 and the DLC, which would be put towards the purchase of SS4: Complete Collection. GOG support stated that while they "treat orders made more than 30 days ago as final and non-refundable", given the circumstance, they were willing to make an exception even though it had been over two months since my purchase. I was quite pleased with GOG's customer support, not just in terms of the outcome, but also the diligence and affable disposition of the representative with whom I communicated (thanks Irrehaare).

I considered this a win-win outcome. As a customer, I was able to purchase the goods I wanted. Kalypso Media made a little bit more money from my purchase of the Complete Collection (the Complete Collection was more expensive than the refund I received for SS4 and the DLC), GOG got its cut, and I was so pleased with the experience that during the transaction I went ahead and purchased an additional video game on GOG.com which I hadn't planned on purchasing at the time.


Last edited by vector on 4 March 2020 at 7:29 am UTC
Shmerl Feb 27, 2020
I think I used it only once in the past. Bug a welcome change anyway.
Whitewolfe80 Feb 27, 2020
Great news I would of refunded a couple but it's too late good to know safety net incase nostalgia gets the best of me again
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