Developer Claims 55,000 Refunds for Game Due to Short Playtime of Under Two Hours

A 22-year-old solo game developer, Zoroarts, has made waves on Steam with his latest title, Paddle Paddle Paddle. This is his second game, following 2023’s Makis Adventure, and it offers a brief yet engaging third-person boat-paddling experience that can be enjoyed solo or in co-op mode. In its first year, the game has impressively sold 262,000 copies. However, a significant 55,000 of those sales have been refunded due to Steam’s no-questions-asked refund policy, as players can finish the game in under two hours.

Steam’s refund policy is notably player-friendly. If you’ve owned a game for less than 14 days and played it for under two hours, you can easily get your money back. This is great for gamers who might find themselves dissatisfied after a short playtime. However, for developers of shorter games, this can be a major setback.

Zoroarts expressed his frustration on social media, stating, “This should not be possible @Steam. Would be cool if you could finally do something about your refund policy.” He noted that while many players have left positive reviews, they still opted for refunds, resulting in a 21% refund rate despite 90% of the reviews being very positive.

Paddle Paddle Paddle was not designed to be completed in under two hours; Zoroarts initially aimed for a playtime closer to three and a half hours. He mentions that many players do take around that time to finish the game. However, its appeal to speedrunners and those who enjoy challenging gameplay has led to a surge of players racing through it and finishing within the refund window—55,000 of them, to be exact.

Priced at just $5, with frequent sales bringing it down to $3, it’s puzzling that players don’t feel their enjoyable experience is worth the cost of a coffee. The game boasts an 89% positive review rate on Steam, and with an average sale price of $4 after fees, that translates to a staggering $154,000 in lost revenue.

This situation raises important questions for Valve, as the policy seems to disadvantage developers of shorter games. While a clear solution isn’t readily apparent, Zoroarts has suggested that expected playtimes could be displayed on game store pages, and if a game is shown to be under two hours, “too short” could be excluded as a reason for refunds.

We’ve reached out to Zoroarts for further insights into his experience and will update with any responses received.