Steam refunds are great for users. They allow us to buy games safe in the knowledge that if our hardware isn't up to scratch, or we simply don't like something, it can be returned. To give an idea of just how many players ask for their money back, Rust creator Garry Newman has reported some figures on Twitter. His multiplayer survival title has been refunded 329,970 times.
The creator of Gmod also revealed that since Rust hit early access in December 2013, its number of refunds total over $4.3 million. The most commonly given reason for requesting a refund is that the game is "not fun," followed by "bad performance," which Newman says is "pretty fair" considering that it's not the easiest game to learn.
Around 5.5 million people own Rust, which means the refunds equate to around 6 percent of total game sales. According to other developers, this figure is in line with many Steam titles, and it often goes higher during sales.
Valve's recently launched Steam Support stats page shows there have been 214,126 total refund requests submitted in the last 24 hours, which is likely due to the current Summer Sale.
Newman says that despite the high figures, Rust wouldn't have sold as well without the refund system in place, as it allows buyers a safety net. "I put that down to people using the refund system as a demo," Newman told PCGameN. "I think in the long run, people knowing the refund system is there probably gained us more sales than it lost us."
In an effort to be more open, Newman wants to open a section on the Facepunch Studios website that displays all the sales statistics.