Steam Issues Full Refund for Battlefield 2042, Breaks Policy

Battlefield 2042's persistent issues and dwindling player count has led Steam to issue full refunds, breaking its own refund policy.

Battlefield 2042 has had a hard time since its launch. Some players have been feeling slighted over the lack of features and content present in this latest installment, with many abandoning the game in just under two months since its release. On top of the lack of features and poorly-received gameplay changes, players have had to deal with a wave of bugs and glitches.

According to Screenrant, by Dec. 2, 2021 Battlefield 2042 had lost nearly 70% of its initial player base on Steam. Those still sticking it out have experienced trouble with match making, with the concurrent player base having shrunk to just 19,000 by the end of December. The number has since plummeted even further.

The growing frustration from fans has led Steam to take some drastic measures, issuing full refunds to players and bend its own policy just to do so.

Steam Issues Full Refund for Battlefield 2042, Breaks Policy

Steam's general refund policy states that users can apply for a refund within 14 days of purchasing a game. Users also typically must have less than two hours of total game time. However, one Reddit user pleaded their case to Steam Support, detailing exactly why they felt misled in their purchase.

"I've spent two hours in the settings because of the bug where the game was resetting my controls or not allow me to rebind them," the post read.

"The broken state of the game and its bugs did not allow me to test the game properly, which is the reason I wish to refund the game. "

Commentors to the Reddit post were quick to share their take on the situation. One user said, "The fact that Steam itself had to bend its policy from how poor this game did, shows just how badly they did."

It's possible that this was a one time offer, as hinted by Steam Support's response: "As a customer gesture, we issued the refund for this purchase." Even so, their willingness to make an exception certainly speaks volumes.

Players on other platforms seem to have had less success in obtaining a refund. "PlayStation won’t refund. Lucky PC players."

At the time of writing, Battlefield 2042 is currenly sitting at just over 85,000 reviews with just under 70% of them being "Mostly Negative." A simply scroll through the game's feedback on its Steam page reveals the general consensus. EA and DICE certainly have their work cut out for them if they hope to reconcile with the fan base.