Not enjoying a VR experience? Oculus now offers refunds for software

By Garrett Hulfish September 26, 2017

oculus rift amazon sale 350 on matt wideview — Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Virtual reality is like the Wild West in the world of video games. There is a wide variety of quality and some users are more prone to the infamous “VR sickness” that comes with some software. Whatever the reason might be, there are times when users just want to backpedal on a recent purchase. With the new refund policy for Oculus Rift content, buyer’s remorse is a thing of the past.

As long as the content is purchased through the Oculus store, it is covered under this new policy. Many digital purchases are eligible for any reason as long as it is made within 14 days of purchased and the content has been engaged with for less than two hours. Even if the content doesn’t qualify for an automated refund, contacting customer support may grant users a refund.

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According to Oculus, users can return Rift apps, games, and many experiences purchased through the Oculus store. There are a few exceptions to this rule. Any movies or content purchased as part of a bundle, or content downloaded through in-app purchases, are not offered automated refunds. As expected, content purchased outside the Oculus platform will not be refunded. For those who are indecisive or think about scamming the system, previously refunded content cannot earn automated refunds again.

Refunds typically take fewer than five days to review, verify, and process. During this period, users will lose access to the app in question. If the request is denied, users regain use of the app. When a refund is granted, the credit will be applied through the original payment method.

Full refunds for digital purchases have been around for awhile, but are still not as prevalent as one would hope. The Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store both have had their own limited return policies, but more gaming-specific services have lagged behind. Valve caused a splash when it first allowed refunds through Steam and Microsoft just did the same thing earlier this year when it allowed both Windows 10 Store and Xbox One digital purchases to be refunded. Sony still lags behind in that they require a call to customer support that only sometimes results in a refund.

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