Steam offers a pretty generous refund system. Now, some new changes are being introduced which will mean you have to take a closer look at your play time before asking for a refund.
Players who purchase games on Steam and within two weeks of purchase only play two hours of the game are able to get a refund no-questions asked. This generous refund policy has been in place for the last 8 years, but now it seems like Valve is going to tighten the rules a little.
The refund policy only included play time once the game officially released, not taking early access or advanced access into account. That is going to change going forward.
Valve Becomes Stricter On Refund Policy
Up until now, players could get early access to some games, play their heart out and then play one or two more hours once the game releases before returning them and getting a refund. Steam's refund policy hadn't included early access to games before, but that is something that will be included going forward.
Going forward the playtime from early access and advanced access will be included in the new refund policy.
When you purchase a title on Steam prior to the release date, the two-hour playtime limit for refunds will apply (except for beta testing), but the 14-day period for refunds will not start until the release date.
So, players who get access to games early and don't enjoy the game within the first two hours should refund the game, otherwise they might go over the time limit Steam and Valve allow going forward. The refund period will only start once the game officially launches though, so players have until 2-weeks after release to refund if they didn't like the game.