GameDiscoverCo: Steam refunds research - sponsored by Neon
New numbers from GameDiscoverCo show the latest Steam refunds benchmark.
GameDiscoverCo surveyed over 150 developers in 2024. 67.8% of respondents had already released a game on Steam; 17.5% were in Early Access; 14.7% had released in Early Access but had since reached version 1.0.
The average refund rate across projects was 10.8%. The median figure was 9.5%.
Early Access projects are refunded slightly more often, but the difference is not dramatic.
Games launched directly as version 1.0 have a median refund rate of 8% and an average of 10.3%. Early Access games have a median refund rate of 12.4% and an average of 12%. Games that transitioned from Early Access to version 1.0 have a median refund rate of 10.4% and an average of 11.4%.
❗️GameDiscoverCo notes that the metric considers returned copies, not monetary value.
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People are more likely to request refunds for expensive games (over $30). The least refunds happen with cheap games (under $4.99—likely because players don't bother with such small amounts) and those priced between $15 and $19.99 (possibly due to high-quality indie projects in this range that players want to support).
As expected, the refund rate decreases as a game's rating increases.
GameDiscoverCo also highlights that higher average playtime correlates with fewer refunds. Niche genres (e.g., puzzles and visual novels) have below-average refund rates compared to the market overall.