Valve has once again changed Steam's refund policy, bringing it in line with the more consumer friendly competition. The new policy lets users get refunds for almost any reason within fourteen days of purchase, if the game in question has been played for less than two hours. This is a huge change from the previous system where Steam refunds were possible only before actually downloading the purchased game.

"You can request a refund for nearly any purchase on Steam—for any reason," states in the update.

"Maybe your PC doesn't meet the hardware requirements; maybe you bought a game by mistake; maybe you played the title for an hour and just didn't like it."

"You will be issued a full refund of your purchase within a week of approval. You will receive the refund in Steam Wallet funds or through the same payment method you used to make the purchase."

The new refund policy also affects DLC, so users will be able to get their money back in case the downloadable content doesn't work or they're unhappy with it. However, in case the DLC was used in some way that permanently affects the game, like boosting a character's level, Steam will not offer refunds.  

Pre-purchased games are also refundable, both prior to launch and during the 14 day period after release.

For some reason, Steam is currently not able to give refunds for movies. Also, refunds won't be given for purchases made outside Steam, like CD keys from third party resellers. Likewise, redeemed gifts aren't refundable.