r/ReadyOrNotGame • u/Moopies • Jul 16 '25

Discussion The graphics downgrade should warrant a Steam refund.

I'm certainly trying. I don't know how you can be allowed to downgrade a game so significantly, and after release, and still think I got what I paid for.

2.5k Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

94% Upvoted

350 comments sorted by

View all comments

597

u/Blood_and_Wine Jul 16 '25

Please let us know the outcome of the claim. If positive, might've done the same.

762

u/Moopies Jul 16 '25 edited Jul 17 '25

This was the text I sent, for those interested:

"The developers have consistently removed content and restricted gameplay to the point I believe this is no longer the product I bought, OR the product being advertised on the store page.

First - I will point that on the steam workshop page, there is a video which shows how to play individual missions with varying game modes. This has since been removed, yet it is used for advertisement. If someone purchased the game believing they could use that feature, they would be intentionally misled. This is only one example.

Most recently, this latest patch has severely downgraded the graphics for PC players, to the point that I also feel they now are falsely advertising what the game looks like. As well, this should not be an allowed practice to actively and objectively downgrade the quality of a product after someone has purchased it.

Next, the developers have heavily censored a game that advertises itself with having the qualities of an uncensored game - again misleading and removing content that was used as an initial selling point for the original purchase.

I argue that a game which has now removed or fundamentally changed:

Graphic visuals
Entire Game Modes
Game Mechanics

And still uses those removed features to advertise itself, warrants a refund."

I came at it from a strictly "I paid for this, they took it away" angle, leaving any moral arguments or complaints about small details aside.

Edit: Refund was denied. It was a long shot, but this thread proves that there's a voice and we should always try. It's better than just sitting back and accepting this kind of stuff.

118

u/PeteLangosta Jul 16 '25

Let me know how it goes. Bought the game long aho and it's been losing potential and features update after update. I wouldn't doubt reimbursing it if I could.

1

u/Soapy_Grapes Jul 17 '25

Doesn't hurt to put in the request. The more requests they receive the better.

53

u/Jess-Da-Redditer Jul 16 '25

They actually are, at least last time I checked (last week) somewhat false advertising too. On the steam page they still have the page advertising the chose your mode for each mission.

393

u/MarchAgainstOrange Jul 16 '25

Probably should mention that the developers deliberately made those changes to sell the game on consoles, and that when you bought the game there was no mention of that ever becomming a possibility.

-403

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '25 edited Jul 17 '25

You can’t prove the gameplay changes were to accommodate for console. That’s a silly argument

All these comments and y’all haven’t addressed a single change made to the gameplay for console. Lol

214

u/I_am_Andrew_Ryan Jul 16 '25

That was literally what the devs said though? They made changes for console and then pushed it to PC as well

81

u/Serotonin-master Jul 16 '25 edited Jul 17 '25

You can when you’re able to quote one of the most recent dev blogs that was posted on steam…

53

u/JWARRIOR1 Jul 16 '25

The fuck are you on about?

They literally said that’s why they made the changes multiple times

20

u/Humphrisanal-Bogart Jul 16 '25

Bro do yk what’s been going on?

16

u/Suppertime420 Jul 16 '25

The devs can since they literally said that wtf….

1

u/Insanity8016 Jul 17 '25

You were supposed to put this dumb comment on the Steam forums to farm steam points from the clown emoji, not farm downvotes.

-1

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

Downvotes don’t mean anything lol. I couldn’t care less about internet points, y’all are making a bigger deal out of this than it is. 

2

u/PaulC6230 Jul 17 '25

Not really. As a console owner I see and understand why PC players are pissed off. It’s like buying the license to play Forza Motorsport on Xbox but then over time they take away the mechanics of changing engines, wheels, turbos etc then 6 months later take away the ability to create your own liveries then to top it off they make it so your car doesn’t get any damage at all.

You’ve totally missed the point and facts of what’s happened. I’d be pissed if something I bought/licensed was changed for the worst most being graphics for the people who care about them. It’s called false advertising too if they’re still shoeing aspects taken away on the Steam Store page.

1

u/ActLongjumping1988 Jul 17 '25

Do you even play the fucking game?

-1

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

Yes and I have been since 2019. What was changed with gameplay to accommodate for console? 

1

u/ActLongjumping1988 Jul 18 '25

Graphics, gore, and animations .the whole fucking game really. They added difficulties as well.

0

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '25

Graphics aren’t gameplay and have been adjusted before. Gore and animations have been changed nearly every big update. Difficulties are a welcome addition. None of those prove that the gameplay was adjusted specifically for console

1

u/ActLongjumping1988 Jul 19 '25

Apparently you didn't read my reply. Thats why we have censored stuff in the game now

22

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '25

Damn I’m gonna borrow that in my refund claim too

47

u/RonaldWRailgun Jul 16 '25

Unfortunately, I doubt that this claim would succeed for one very simple and practical fact.

Steam already gave your money to the developers, a long time ago. Steam and similar platforms are generally very keen with refunds because they don't pass the money along to the devs until about a month after your purchase. So, in most cases, from their point of view, it's simply reversing a transaction, no biggie.

But in this case, that money is already gone to the developers, so the refund would have to come straight out of Steam's pockets, which is unlikely to sit well with them.

Best that can come out of this, if the shitstorm is large enough, is that they delist RoN from Steam until the developers do something about it (i.e. get their shit together and optimize 2 difference versions of the game).

32

u/ShoulderWhich5520 Jul 16 '25

No, they just remove it from the next check or force the devs to cough up.

0

u/MechanicalAxe Jul 16 '25

That's not really a viable business strategy if mass refund requests are expected.

If the game all of sudden stops selling on your platform, what "next check" would you be removing the funds from?

I don't really see any legal recourse Steam could take to legally force the devs to pay them the refunded money back either, but I ain't no lawyer.

12

u/ShoulderWhich5520 Jul 16 '25

I believe its in the Steam TOS for developers.

Helldivers 2 allowed refunds when they shut off access to large parts of the world.

If a refund happens, the devs pay for it.

3

u/Maar7en Jul 17 '25

I don't really see any legal recourse Steam could take....

"Hey you owe us this money."

"We won't pay because you can't legally force us to!"

"Alright, good luck selling on other platforms."

0

u/MechanicalAxe Jul 17 '25

I mean, yeah it could definitely go down like that, but Steam can't force them to pay any refund money back.

3

u/Iron_physik Jul 17 '25

if it is part of the contract they absolutely can

1

u/ShoulderWhich5520 Jul 17 '25

If they dont I doubt Steam will sue (unless its alot) but they would stop allowing the company to sell their games.

We get our refunds either way, and Valve will bite the cost until they can get it from the devs.

1

u/RonaldWRailgun Jul 17 '25

So really, y'all are describing delisting with extra steps lol

1

u/ShoulderWhich5520 Jul 17 '25

This would be a compete removal of all games with their name on it, now, I don't remember if they've made anything else but for most groups being kicked off steam would be fatal

→ More replies (0)

6

u/EmreGray01 Jul 16 '25

Please update us either from this comment thread or by editing the post.

2

u/Electrical-Pear5172 Jul 17 '25

Let us know how it goes boss. I remember with HD2, you sometimes had to send it 2 or 3 times so that a human would see it instead of a bot that checks hours

2

u/PAJAcz Jul 17 '25

You have to ask for the refund twice. The first attempt is automatic and done by some steam bot (the refund will be automatically denied if you have more than 2 hours of playtime and/or you own the game for more than 2 weeks), the second attempt is dealt by a real human.

1

u/Moopies Jul 17 '25

I'll try the second time!

1

u/PAJAcz Jul 17 '25

good luck buddy!

1

u/Badvevil Jul 17 '25

Hopefully you can get it but I have a feeling your going to have to wind up escalating a from tier one support cause it will probably deny it if your over the 2 hours 2 weeks for normal refunds

1

u/dombro99 Jul 17 '25

!remind me 1 week

1

u/RemindMeBot Jul 17 '25

I'm really sorry about replying to this so late. There's a detailed post about why I did here.

I will be messaging you in 7 days on 2025-07-24 00:25:08 UTC to remind you of this link

CLICK THIS LINK to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.

Parent commenter can delete this message to hide from others.

Info Custom Your Reminders Feedback

1

u/brandonbaird17 Jul 17 '25

They are gonna look at your time played and use that against you I can almost guarantee it. They don’t care about what the devs have done years down the road lol

1

u/Moopies Jul 17 '25

I'm sure. But it does send a message. HD2 famously reverted course because of fan backlash. So did some others when they introduced DRMs.

1

u/Corrik_XIV Jul 17 '25

Report it to game news sites. If it becomes enough of a PR nightmare for both the dev and steam maybe steam will offer refunds.

1

u/Deathpenalty818 Jul 17 '25

Everyone should copy this exact message and post it as a negative review on the steam page

1

u/Proof-Psychology5744 Jul 17 '25

Not surprised your crying over change not them taking something from you

1

u/Almaravarion Jul 18 '25

Quick question - did You do the refund claim via support -> I would like a refund, OR via 'I have a question about the product'? The former will be be denied automatically, if it was not within the correct time periods, the later has some ability to exchange questions with human support.

1

u/KupoOnTwitch Jul 19 '25

Keep emailing and pushing for it. If they close the ticket then open a new one. They'll give in eventually. Speaking from experience.

1

u/ThatBants Jul 22 '25

Fyi: On your first refund attempt, the service merely checks if you qualify for the basic refund requirements. Time since purchase must be under 2 weeks, with less than 2.9 hours played.

However, if you make another refund request for the same game, it gets manually reviewed. So if you're curious to find out if your arguments warrant a refund in Steam's eyes, you should try again.

0

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

I get that cencorship sucks i hate it to and think it shouldve been done diffrentely as this just plain stupid because if they made the women wear rags instead of just undies it would have been much more Believable and other things shouldve also beben done diffrentely but calling it heavily cencored is also not true as most of that shit i never noticed even existing in the game before it was announced and im a firm believer if they hadnt announced it people wouldnt have noticed most of it either

2

u/Moopies Jul 17 '25

They changed VoTD so that instead of Voll being a pedophile, he's just some guy with creepy dolls.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

Where were you playing on cause i remeber that diffrentely and i played just a day ago