New Xbox Refund Policy

[NaNoW]

New Xbox Refund Policy

Reddit user gaymerRaver
Xbox will become the first game console to support refund on digital purchase via new "self-service refund". This will be
applicable to both Xbox One consoles and Windows 10.

This will be very similar to how Steam refund policy works, which was a high contention point between consumers and developers.
As on one hand its great for consumers, but I feel indie devs are going to suffer due to this since a large number of games can be played to significant percentage in 2 hours.

I personally think that developers should get to decide if they want their games to fall under "completion percentage" (I.e you can only refund if you haven't played through 15% of the experience) or time based - as it currently stands. This will ensure that a fair representation of the game lands in consumers' hands and they can get a refund if they desire, while developers get to decide which route they want to take.

A number of indie titles can be played to significant completion in 2 hours - specially linear experiences. And if you game is more
about replayability then you can decide to go with completion based refund. Both these thing can be tracked and automated, and
the consumer easily informed to which refund policy applies to certain games.

How it will work :

You’ve spoken; we’ve listened. In support of offering gamers the freedom of choice, we’re making changes to the Microsoft Store purchase experience by offering customers a simple way to instantly return digital products like games and apps through account.microsoft.com.
When a game or app leaves you wanting more, we’re here to help. Self-service refunds on Xbox One and Windows 10 provide a quick, simple way of returning a digital product.
To request a self-service refund:
1. Navigate to account.microsoft.com and sign-in.
2. From the top menu bar, select Payment & billing > Order history.
3. Navigate to a purchased game or app, and select Request a refund.
Please note the below conditions for requesting a self-service refund:

• Games and apps are eligible for self-service refunds within 14 days of purchase if you have less than 2 hours of play time across all accounts.
• DLC, season passes, and add-ons are not eligible for self-service refunds.
• The game or app must be downloaded and launched before requesting a self-service refund.
• You must wait for at least 1 day after the game or app’s release before requesting a self-service refund.
• Certain Windows 10 apps may not be eligible for self-service refunds.
• 
  

  Microsoft reserves the right to block access for users who abuse self-service refunds.

What is your input regarding the old steam and newly announced Xbox refund policy @cerebraltiger @v3nom @others

Click here to view the article.

 

[V3N0M]

It's obviously because of less free to play demos these days & a very good thing from consumer point of view . Strange to see MS coming up with it first & not Sony . Not sure how it is going to effect the indie developers because on Steam it hasn't . Microsoft I think is really preparing for this year E3 , they want full consumer support

 

[mac007]

Good thing is that it will be available in Pakistan also