Recent updates to the Epic Games Store now include self-service refunds, keyless third-party store purchases, and possibly partial refunds.
In an official news post on their website, Epic Games detail the new features. Firstly, users will be able to request a refund through their account settings- providing it is within 14 days of purchase, and it has not been played foe more than 2 hours.
Epic Games also state “You will not be eligible for games from which you have been banned or for which you have otherwise violated the terms of service. In addition, you may not be eligible for refunds if Epic determines that you are abusing the refund policy.”
Refunds will be returned through the payment method used, though “this may not always be possible depending on the payment method.”
In addition, the Epic Games Store will be partnering with Fanatical, Green Man Gaming, and Genba Digital. This is to allow them to offer keyless purchases for games on the Epic Games Store.
“These partnerships make it easier for players to purchse [sic] games from third-party sites,” the news post reads, “by allowing them to link their Epic Games Store accounts to their retailer of choice.”
“Players will no longer need to take additional steps to redeem a key which often includes exchanging 20-digit redemption codes. Instead, this provides more confidence knowing a purchase is coming from a legitimate source and that it is directly attributed to your linked Epic Games account.”
Other updates included changes to ownership authorization (occurring earlier in the launch process), more options for bandwidth management, and five more local currencies (CAD, AUD, SEK, DKK, NOK).
Finally, Epic Games shared information on upcoming features currently in development. These include a Mod Maketplace for users to “browse a catalog of player and developer made mods for their games,” and achievements.
While those are the end of the official announcements, Joshua Boggs (founder of Studio Mayday) claims that the Epic Games Store may also be offering partial refunds for those who bought a game that soon after goes on sale (thanks VGC!).
“Like.. this makes a LOT of sense,” Boggs tweeted. “Some storefronts suffer heavily from the same psychology that surrounds deflation economics. Why buy something NOW when the value of it will be lower later? Apply this over a long enough time period and no one buys anything. That’s a recession.”
“If this move by Epic is going to roll out, they’re effectively ensuring stability in the trust of their store’s economy by encouraging people to buy without worrying if the game they’re buying will suddenly decrease in value later.
They’re essentially managing their economy like the federal reserve does to create trust in their economy. It’s brilliant biz and long term foresight into the current climate around game purchases.. ..and just awesomely generous given no competition is doing the same.”
Some Twitter users claim Epic Games had been doing “at least one year ago,” though several other news outlets seem surprised by the news. Another claimed that “steam will do this manually if you ask them too in a reasonable amount of time.”
There is seemingly no official announcement about this partial refund system, with the Epic Games Store Refund Policy (last updated May 13th) stating only this regarding games that have recently gone on sale.
“What if a product I recently purchased goes on sale?
You can refund your purchase for a full refund and immediately re-purchase the product as long as it abides by the above guidelines, we do not consider this to be refund abuse.
If Epic determines you are abusing the refund policy, you may not be eligible for refunds. The policy exists so you can purchase with comfort and make sure you only spend on the games you want to pay for and play!”
We have reached out to Boggs and Epic Games for more information.
