How To Get A Refund For ‘No Man’s Sky’: Update On How To Get Money Back From Steam, Amazon, And PlayStation

Gamers trying to get a refund on No Man’s Sky have found all kinds of difficulty, with little success for most disappointed players despite some initial reports that retailers were offering a helping hand to those unhappy with the game.

When the long-anticipated game was launched a few weeks ago, it quickly became the biggest release of the year for gaming retailer Steam. VG24/7 noted that it was blowing other recent releases out of the water, with a peak of 197,972 concurrent players.

“To compare, XCOM 2 had 133,022 peak users at launch, Dark Souls 3 had 129,975 and Doom had 44,271 users. The site lists other titles released in 2016 such as Stellaris and Stardew Valley which were surprise hits.”

But the shine wore off No Man’s Sky very quickly as complaints about bugs and inconsistent gameplay surfaced, with sales slumping after a little more than a week and the number of concurrent players falling off by 90 percent.

There is anger on both sides of the issue. Many players have complained that they felt cheated to find that the gameplay and re-boot problems left the game sometimes impossible to play. And in turn, Sony’s former strategic content director wrote on Twitter that people seeking a refund after owning and playing the game had no right to it.

“If you’re getting a refund after playing a game for 50 hours you’re a thief,” wrote Shahid Kamal Ahmad. He later added, “Here’s the good news: Most players are not thieves. Most players are decent, honest people without whose support there could be no industry.”

The problems created a mad dash of gamers looking for a way to get a refund on No Man’s Sky, which itself has turned into a tricky endeavor.

Many users who purchased No Man’s Sky through Steam were relieved this weekend when reports surfaced that the outlet would be offering refunds on the game with no limit on time played. Steam’s normal policy is to allow refunds within the first 14 days to anyone who played up to two hours of the game, but there were reports that people with as many as 70 hours in the game were still getting their money back.

But while Steam is indeed offering a refund on No Man’s Sky, the site noted this week that the return policy will be no different than any other game.

“PC game retailer Steam has added a warning to its No Man’s Sky page, denying the game is exempt from its normal refund policy,” the BBC reported. “It states that ‘the standard Steam refund policy applies to No Man’s Sky.’ The firm adds that ‘there are no special exemptions available.'”

Valve's refund policy still applies to No Man's Sky, despite what you might have heard. https://t.co/vSJeh8Xice pic.twitter.com/o89VLnRfwU

— PC Gamer (@pcgamer) August 29, 2016

There are still some differing reports on how Steam shoppers can get their money back. Some NeoGAF users also noted that Steam is giving refunds on No Man’s Sky, but only to those who are persistent enough.

“If you have trouble getting a refund, ask for the supervisor,” one user wrote. “Try again with another supervisor if the previous supervisor denied your refund.”

Here's how to get a refund if you bought the PC version of 'No Man's Sky' https://t.co/ffSxeseG32 pic.twitter.com/6P8O7wDXCt

— TNW (@thenextweb) August 30, 2016

IGN followed up on how to get a refund for No Man’s Sky through other retailers, finding a mixed bag of results.

“First up we spoke to PlayStation UK’s customer support, who informed us consumers can request a refund, but there are a few caveats. Only people with in-game technical issues can request a refund, and you’ll be required to run through a list of troubleshooting options with the customer service representative before your case is passed over to the PlayStation investigation team, who will then decide if your case justifies a refund.

“Next came Amazon UK, who didn’t want to go into the specifics as to what the criteria is for a refund, but did say the company was offering them on a case-by-case basis.”

The report noted that the policies for the U.K.’s site are likely to be the same for other international outlets, so users in the United States can expect the same answers from PlayStation and Amazon.

Other tips for how to get a refund on No Man’s Sky can be found here, but all indications point to the majority of gamers being out of luck when trying to get their money back.

[Image via Hello Games]