GOG will now refund games within 30 days, even if they've been played

Digital game storefront GOG has updated its refund policy to let users fully refund a game within 30 days of purchase, even if it has been downloaded, launched, and played. The company's previous policy only allowed users to return products with technical issues.

It's a notable change that breaks the norm established by rivals like Steam and the Epic Games Store, both of which will only refund games within two weeks of purchase and with less than two hours of playtime. 

The biggest difference between those policies and GOG's is that the latter doesn't mention any limits on playtime, meaning players could potentially sink a huge amount of time into a game before asking for their money back four weeks later. 

GOG does, however, state that it will "use this updated voluntary refund policy only if something doesn't work as expected," and that it trusts players to make informed purchasing decisions while respecting "all the time and hard work put into making the games you play."

The company will also reserve the right to refuse refunds in individual cases, and asks that people don't abuse the scheme by asking for an unreasonable about of games to be refunded. 

"The latest update to our voluntary Refund Policy adds another piece to this customer-friendly experience. And it all sums up in one sentence: starting now, you can get a full refund up to 30 days after purchasing a product, even if you downloaded, launched, and played it. That's it," explained the company.

"We're monitoring the effects of the current update to make sure no one is using this policy to hurt the developers that put their time and heart into making great games. We may refuse refunds in such individual cases. We'd also let you know about any future adjustments in the voluntary Refund Policy in advance."

You can find out more about the updated refund policy by checking out this FAQ.