It's logical as the way I suppose it works is that it deletes the "entry" in your library to block you from "playing the game" (as it's a gaming platform primarly) but not the content on your local hard drive as it would imply that some guy could "access" your personal computer remotely and delete stuff on it without your "permission".

I would suggest that you contact them yourself as it would go faster with an "insider" dev rather than a random guy like me ;)
PS: Tell them I'm a good guy, I don't want my account to be banned, I still have to finish Dark Souls before I die ^o^

Ok :)

OK, a tiny bit of data on refunds has emerged and it's not cheerful. I think the expression "cheapskates" could apply....

So, case in point: Beyond Gravity.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/317510
A game primarly aimed at mobile but also ported to Windows. It's not my type but it only costs 2€ and the trailer and page description is very clear about what you will get. Interesting fact is that it has goals and shop mechanics so the gameplay time can be extended beyond the 2 hours.

In itself, the game is done quite well for a mobile port with 613 reviews (good % of positive) and according to steampspy, it has 23.449 owners (it apparently didn't rely too much on bundles).

The game has consistent sales with usual discount spikes:
https://twitter.com/qwiboo/status/607411769737216001/photo/1

Now, with a bit of "zooming" by amking the craph to last week sales, you get this:
https://twitter.com/qwiboo/status/607234020372418560

Of course, first thing I tought was "Steam summer sales are coming, that's normal" but in fact, Steam already has integrated the amount of refunds in the sales reports so it gave a 72% of refunds since the new system launched:
https://twitter.com/qwiboo/status/607273552060948480

You need to wait more to draw conclusions. People are now in the phase where they try the new system, and a cheap game is good for that. Or did you think that from all millions of Steam users, you're the only one doing it?

This data doesn't mean much though. There really isn't any data there significant enough to draw any conclusions.

-Mobile port
-Steam sale days away (plus many places are doing or getting ready for sales)
-Refund system just launched
-Steamspy is crap (a significant amount of the user base uses friends only or private profiles so they aren't in those figures)
-At least as far as steam goes the only people that ever bother leaving reviews either really liked the game or really really hated it.

I'm not sure how he's getting those refund numbers. The June sales report isn't out for me yet.

https://twitter.com/qwiboo/status/607291967941140481

Don't know what genius thought twitter is a good way to communicate.

It's known that demos reduce sales. I expect that most games will see quite a few refunds.

Here's an idea to all devs - propose to steam to put data about how many refunds a user has made on their profile :) It's a simple as that, like how many games one have, let everyone knows how many refunds you've done. That way everybody will think twice if he really want to cheat the system this way and be known by all of his friends as a "cheapskates".

Thanks, just checked my report. Seems I have a fair number of refunds as well. Ugh.

Are sales number normal other than this?

Up to this point people who bought a game were expected to risk their money. If they didn't like it they had no choice but to keep it. With refunds I expect that more people will buy the game, but also a lot of refunds (so the net result will be fewer sales).

The big question is how many of those asking for refunds are cheaters. That would be hard to tell without Valve (and devs) implementing some way to track how far into the game people got.

Well, you can play offline for 13 days and on the 14th one ask for a refund, so you are not more vulnerable if someone wants to take advantage on the refund system. ( I have been playing XCOM lately, and Steam logs X hours, but doesn't log the 5 hours I wasted one night I couldn't sleep, so it is possible indeed).

It's already implemented, they call it 'achievements'

Significant amount?

I believe there were wording about banning people from further refunds if they were abusing the system. I don't think they actually clarified this further, but I'm guessing if someone repeatedly buys a game, has an hour of playtime and then refunds it that's likely a red flag for investigation.

From a consumer standpoint it's a great thing. Especially when you look at some of the horrible things released on Steam which could hardly be considered a game. Or which was released in so buggy a state as to be unplayable. There's been plenty of stories of this ilk as of late. This should hopefully get developers to release better tested games than the cashgrabs there've been plenty of examples of as of late.

As for the short narrative experiences. Yes it's going to be a potential problem for them, at least from those who want to abuse the system. I just hope there are enough decent people who feel if they enjoyed an experience then it's worth letting the money stay with the developer rather than just claim a refund after completion.

I think no questions asked refund policy should be present only for games which are early access. Steam doesn't log your time when you are offline, they ought to change that first.