There is no single "video game refund law" — each store writes its own policy, and they differ on windows, playtime caps, and what counts as non-refundable. The platform comparison hub links every store's exact rule, and each platform page carries the verified policy and source.
Steam is the benchmark most players know: 14 days and under 2 hours of playtime. Other stores set different expectations — some use a shorter post-purchase window, some exclude downloaded or "final sale" content, and some handle pre-orders and subscriptions under separate terms. The point is not to memorize each one but to open the right page before you buy or before you request.
Two patterns trip people up. First, "final sale" or "non-refundable once downloaded" clauses are common (notably Nintendo's eShop stance) — but they may not override your regional consumer rights, which is a separate track covered in the regional guide. Second, in-game items, currency, and consumed DLC are usually excluded everywhere, so check the non-refundable list on the specific platform page you care about.
Practical habit: before a big purchase, glance at that store's refund page and note the window and the playtime cap. If a purchase goes wrong, the eligibility checker and the platform pages get you to the right request form fast, instead of a support maze.
Why there is no single rule
Video-game refunds are governed by each store's own terms of sale, not by a video-game law. That means the same purchase can be cleanly refundable on one store and a hard "final sale" on another, depending on the window, the playtime cap, and the non-refundable list the store publishes. The practical move is never to memorize the rules but to open the right platform page before you buy.
Two structural differences explain most surprises. First, some stores measure the window from purchase and others from release (pre-orders shift the start line). Second, "non-refundable once downloaded" is common for digital content, yet it describes store policy — not necessarily your regional consumer rights, which sit on top of it.
The stores at a glance
Steam is the benchmark most players know: 14 days and under 2 hours of playtime, with pre-orders refundable until launch. PlayStation and Xbox handle refunds case by case and often exclude downloaded content; Nintendo's eShop takes the hardest line as "final sale" for downloaded software. Epic and Riot each publish their own windows and carve-outs. Every exact figure lives on its platform page, sourced to the official policy.
When store policy is not the end
If a game is faulty, misdescribed, or undeliverable, consumer law can require a remedy the store's form denies. In the EU and UK, digital-content and distance-selling rules can apply even against a "final sale" stance; in the U.S., the federal and state routes (FCBA, UDAP, state AG) do the same. Pair the platform page with the dispute guide before accepting a denial.