Sony is making it possible for gamers using their PlayStation platform to request refunds for purchases over a certain period of time.
It means that PS4 gamers will be able to request refunds from the tech giant over the first 14 days of its ownership.
However, Sony has also put some stiff limitations on this refund policy, which probably won’t help a lot of PlayStation Store users.
You can return a product that you might have accidentally clicked on, or perhaps received as a gift somehow.
But if you have played the game, downloaded it or streamed it from the PlayStation Store, you will not be eligible.
So good news for some PS4 owners and disappointing for others.
After you have played it, even downloaded it, you can’t request a refund, but the good news is that this can be used for pre-orders.
Here’s the official blurb from Sony, who confirm this about their new updated refund policy: “You can cancel a digital content purchase within 14 days from the date of purchase and receive a refund to your PSN wallet, provided that you have not started downloading or streaming it.
“Digital content that you have started downloading or streaming, and in-game consumables that have been delivered, are not eligible for a refund unless the content is faulty.
“You can cancel your purchase of a season pass within 14 days from the date of purchase and receive a refund to your PSN wallet, provided that you have not started downloading or streaming any digital content (e.g. game add-ons) included in the season pass.”
On Pre-orders, Sony adds: “You may cancel a pre-order of digital content at any time before the release date and receive a refund to your PSN wallet. If the release date has passed, you can still change your mind and request a refund to your wallet up to 14 days after payment was taken for the pre-order, provided that you have not started downloading or streaming the content to your device.
So what about cancelling your PlayStation subscriptions, is it possible to do that with PS Plus and PS Now?
The answer is yes, but as you might expect, it comes with some similar drawbacks to what you see above.
“You can cancel your purchase of a subscription to PlayStation Plus, PlayStation Now or Spotify Premium service and request a refund to your PSN wallet within 14 days from the initial transaction date, even after you start using the subscription,” Sony confirms in its new policy statement.
“The refund may be reduced pro-rata to reflect the use you have had of the service. This may show as two transactions in your account transaction history: a refund to your wallet of the full amount originally paid and then a debit of a charge for the period of the service you received.”
New refund policies from Sony PlayStation is a welcome sign, especially when you consider how important digital purchases and subscription are becoming.
But these new policies may not be exactly what gamers would like, with plenty of time to see improvements in the future.
Steam’s current refund policy is different and will refund original payment methods up to 14 days after they have been purchased. And that’s including if you have played the game for less than two hours.
