There's no doubt that Valve's Steam platform helped to shift gaming into the digital age by allowing PC gamers to download straight onto their computers, rather than purchase from a physical store. While the company is currently busy promoting its upcoming handheld Steam Deck device, life is still continuing on in its gaming platform. A few years ago, a refund policy was introduced which, on the surface, sounded like a good idea. However, one indie developer has had so much trouble with it, it's having to quit indefinitely.
Releasing a short statement on its Twitter page yesterday, Emika Games, the creator of the indie horror game Summer of '58, as well as others, has said that the Steam refund policy has ruined the studio's chance of making any games in the future. The issue comes down to the fact that customers can ask for refunds, no questions asked, on any game that they've had for less than two weeks, and that they've clocked no more than two hours on.
From a consumer perspective, the refund is a good idea, but it assumes that all games are likely to last longer than the two-hour threshold implemented by Steam. Given that Emika Games' Summer of '58 is a survival horror title with a very short playthrough time, around ninety minutes on average, this means players can play the entirety of the game and then ask for a refund. Steam will obviously see that the play time for the game is less than two hours, so will initiate the refund, which is what's causing the developer to struggle to continue in the industry.
In the statement on Twitter, Emika Games thanked the fans for being supportive, but that the issue at the moment is that little money is being made, and as such, the studio's next project, From Day to Day, will not "see the light of day" while on indefinite leave from development. This news highlights some of the concerns that indie developers have had over Steam's refund policy since day one, mainly that it penalizes short independent games and thus the people who make them.
Steam first introduced refunds back in 2015, which aimed to reduce the risk of customers paying $50 or more for a game and being stuck with it if they didn't like it. With the Summer of 58 developer now feeling there's not much future, and that it must go on hiatus with the possibility of not returning, creators of short games may find themselves at a loss due to customers taking advantage of the Steam policy.