Overview
- Citing posts on X, Zoroarts said on July 5 that more than 55,000 copies of Paddle Paddle Paddle were refunded under Steam’s refund rule for games played less than two hours.
- Steam’s policy gives buyers a full refund if they request it within 14 days and have played under two hours, a consumer protection that was not designed for very short single-session games.
- Coverage estimates the refunds could translate into roughly $150,000 to $165,000 in lost revenue for the low-priced title based on reported refund counts and recent sale prices.
- The developer says many refunds followed players who finished the game in one to two hours, including speedrunners, though some users cited technical issues or simple dissatisfaction in their refund notes.
- Zoroarts calls for store-listed expected completion times to help buyers judge value, and reporters say no official response from Valve has been published so far, raising questions about policy changes that could balance buyer protection and small developers’ incomes.