Good Old Games, also known as GOG, has updated its refund policy for their PC digital game store. From now on you’ll have a 30-day window to refund a game you’ve purchased, even if you’ve downloaded and played the game to some extent. Previously, GOG would only consider a full refund if the game had any technical issues, otherwise, they would make the purchase final. This new policy gives the consumer a huge amount of leverage, and it’s almost unheard of in the world of digital gaming, let alone the video game industry.

We always believed in a ‘gamers-first’ approach and with this voluntary update to our Refund Policy you can get a full refund up to 30 days after purchasing a product, even if you downloaded, launched, and played it.

More details – https://t.co/WfwZkyLkbo

— GOG.COM (@GOGcom) February 26, 2020

While this an amazing new policy, GOG also has the rights to review individual cases and refuse a refund. In the in-depth FAQ page, the company states that: “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.” It’s apparent that GOG has thought about this in every angle, especially when it comes to someone potentially abusing the new policy to simply play through a game in under a month, and then return it.

It’s obvious that consumers are going to be happy about this, but how do the developers of those video games feel? Apparently, not very good, as it also turns out that they weren’t aware of the new policy change before GOG announced it. Eurogamer reported on this and posted a few tweets of those who were feeling a bit unnerved, as well as a deep dive on the subject. Perhaps the most prophetic of the developers was Ragnar Tornquist from Red Thread Games, who was fairly candid on how they feel as a whole.

Developers (at least most of us) are never consulted when Steam or GOG make fundamental changes to their services. They sell OUR games. They make money from OUR games. Why do we not get a say in how OUR games are sold? https://t.co/wWF4OLEKEV

— Ragnar Tørnquist (@ragso) February 27, 2020

There are some exceptions to this policy though. For instance, if you want to use this policy on an Early Access Game, it starts when you’ve purchased the title, not when the developer fully releases the final product. However, for pre-order games, the 30-day policy starts on the actual launch day of the title. You can also get a refund on the pre-order before it releases.

If you received the game as a gift, the policy will only work in regards to the one who actually purchased it. Lastly, when you are given your refund you’ll have the choice to have it directly deposited into your GOG Wallet, or back into your original payment method. GOG states in the FAQ that the GOG Wallet deposit will be instantaneous, while the original method can take a couple of days before it’s returned.

GOG has always been a staunch supporter of the consumer and DRM-Free games, and this new policy shows just how much they are willing to go to bat for them. It’s too early to tell just how the policy will play out, but we wouldn’t be surprised if GOG had to dial this one back a bit. If anything, they just might use the same policy that Steam and the Epic Games Store use; a 14-day window with less than two hours played instead of a 30-day window with no play limit.