Sony has updated their refund policy on the PlayStation Store which allows customers to get their money back from digital game purchases – or at the very least some store credit. You can even get a refund for video game pre-orders if you should happen to change your mind about getting an upcoming title. The way it works is fairly simple. You have up to 14 days after making a digital game purchase to request a refund. If Sony feels that your request is legitimate they will send you an equivalent amount in PlayStation Store credit. DLC and season pass refunds will also be settled with store credit. If you are seeking a refund for a game pre-order made from the PlayStation Store, then after approval Sony will send a refund to whatever payment source you used when making the purchase. It is even possible to get a refund for a PlayStation Plus or PlayStation Now subscription but the amount of store credit you receive may be prorated depending on how much time has lapsed since the purchase was made.
This is a sorely needed step forward but unfortunately every silver lining has a dark cloud attached to it and this situation is no different. You see, the only way you can qualify for a refund is if you do not actually download the game. If you happen to have the “Automatic Downloads” setting activated on your PS4 console and the game you no longer want is now installed comfortably on your hard drive, you are simply out of luck.
In other words, if you are in the middle of a hard day of work at the office and your child manages to bypass parental controls on your PS4 and pre-order an upcoming game, you can likely get a refund if you manage to catch it before the title is downloaded. If you only notice that little Timmy has been running wild with your credit card and a game has already been downloaded to your console then no refund will be given. This also applies to pre-loading games that have not been released yet. If your game was pre-loaded then there will be no refund for you.
I would strongly suggest that you disable the “Automatic Downloads” feature on your PS4 if you are on the fence about a particular game.
