Epic Games Store refunds are confusing: Here's how it works
Ever since launch, Epic has been working to build out the feature set of the Epic Games Store. The store launched in a pretty basic state, with Epic putting together a roadmap packed with various features that it had planned for the future. Yesterday, the Epic Games Store gained a big feature – self-service refunds – that will definitely help in it its quest to achieve parity with Steam, but it turns out that what Epic officially revealed may not be the entire story.
Epic is also apparently handing out partial refunds for games that go on sale shortly after they're purchased. As reported by Eurogamer, Mayday Studios founder Joshua Boggs recently took to Twitter to share a screenshot of an email he received from Epic detailing a partial refund he was eligible for.
Whoa whoa what?! I've clearly been around for too long because I find this refund for a discount I missed on the @EpicGames store absolutely mind blowingly generous. This is incredible? pic.twitter.com/eHfcus5E0K
— Joshua Boggs (@jboggsie) May 15, 2020
"You recently placed orders from the Epic Games Store," the email reads. "The prices of the game(s) you purchased were recently lowered, so we are issuing partial refunds for the difference(s)." Epic doesn't seem to have mentioned this in any official capacity, so perhaps this is a new thing that the company is trying to roll out without making a lot of noise about it.
Offering partial refunds for purchases made right before a game goes on sale makes a lot of sense, especially since sales in the PC gaming world are often big events that you can set your clock to. As Boggs points out in subsequent tweets, users will often stop buying entirely when they know a sale is on the horizon. With Epic offering these partial refunds, there's no real worry about buying a game at full price and missing out on a deal that might be right around the corner.
It's worth pointing out that while Steam is okay with users refunding recent purchases to buy them again at a lower sale price, those refunds still need to meet Steam's eligibility rules. What's more, Steam doesn't offer automatic partial refunds in the case of sales like Epic is doing here, so in that regard, the Epic Games Store actually has a leg up on Steam. We'll let you know if Epic talks about this feature in any official capacity, so stay tuned.