EA Now Offers Refunds for Digital Downloads Through Origin

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By Chelsea Stark2013-08-20 23:17:12 UTC

EA is now offering refunds for digital downloads of games through its Origin service. Consumers can return games with which they aren't satisfied for seven days after purchase.

That window shortens to 24 hours for games they have actually launched and played, according to EA's post about its Great Games Guarantee. Gamers can also request a refund for games they've pre-ordered up to seven days after the game's release date.

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Currently, this policy only applies to titles published by EA, and is effective immediately. EA said it will take 48 hours to process refund requests, and customers should receive their money back within 10 days.

Players can tell if their game is eligible by visiting the order history page. There will be a "Request a Refund" button if the option is available.

EA's new refund policy is a first for the digital games marketplace. Steam, the largest games digital distribution platform for PC, does not offer any refunds, except in very rare cases. Last December, Steam's controlling company Valve was forced to refund users after being flooded with complaints that PC title The War Z drastically under-delivered on its promises.

In March, some customers demanded refunds after SimCity's rocky launch. The game, which could only be played while connected to the Internet, experienced so much server traffic during the first week and a half of release that thousands of players could not play. Generally, EA refused to refund customer's money, though some on Reddit reported getting refunds through EA. Amazon also refunded digital downloads of SimCity for a short period of time.

What do you think of EA's refund policy? Share your thoughts in the comments, below.

Image: EA

Topics: EA, Entertainment, Gaming, origin