{"rewrite":{"id":"r_277db47c156d2cac82175c04","clusterId":"c_93fc28fb664f28ce5014b6d7","slug":"refund-this-game-hits-steam-with-a-two-hour-timer-built-in","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Refund This Game Hits Steam With A Two-Hour Timer Built In","summary":"Cactile Games released Refund This Game on PC via Steam on October 13. The first-person action game uses a pole vault pole to cross a field of objects and reach a summit, with a two-hour timer on screen. Its stated goal is to clear it inside the window and take a refund. Achievements track both outcomes.","whyItMatters":"A game built around Steam's two-hour refund window turns a policy debate that ran through developer circles into a playable premise, which is a harder test of the system than any forum thread.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe game follows the structure of Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy: awkward controls, one pole, and a summit to reach. What separates it is the clock. A two-hour timer sits at the top of the screen, matching Steam\u0026#39;s refund threshold, and the objective written into the game is to finish before it runs out and request a refund.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAchievements cover both directions, one for reaching the summit inside two hours and one for playing past the refund time. dofhouse, who worked on the game with Cactile Games, points to the refund debate that spread on social media around July, and says he wanted to build something that let players try the system casually.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Refund This Game ships with achievements for both clearing the two-hour window and failing it. Splitting the reward between success and failure undercuts the refund premise: the studio gains from either outcome.","twitterPost":"Refund This Game rewards both clearing the two-hour window and failing it, so the refund premise has no loser.","threadsPost":"Refund This Game carries achievements for both finishes: clearing the two-hour window and missing it. Cactile Games built a refund stunt that pays out whichever way the run ends, which is what a stunt is for.","newsletterBlurb":"Cactile Games released Refund This Game on Steam on October 13, a first-person action game where a two-hour timer runs while you climb to a summit, and the goal is to finish inside the refund window. Achievements mark both outcomes: reaching the top in time, and playing past it. dofhouse, who worked on the game with Cactile Games, cites the Steam refund debate that spread on social media around July.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Automaton\",\"url\":\"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20261015-473585/\",\"title\":\"Mountain-Climbing Game 'Refund This Game' Appears on Steam, Recommending Players Clear It and Get a Refund - Essentially Free to Beat, If You Can Reach the Summit Within 2 Hours\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4695,"outputTokens":607,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1792046237,"createdAt":"2026-10-15T06:32:35.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-15T06:36:08.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-15T06:36:08.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_93fc28fb664f28ce5014b6d7","canonicalTitle":"Steamに「クリアして返金推奨」登山ゲーム『Refund This Game』出現。“実質無料”でクリア可能、2時間以内に登頂できるなら","representativeArticleId":"a_7a5f12a32c480ed7e33762db","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Refund This Game\"],\"studios\":[\"Cactile Games\"],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"release\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-15T05:21:07.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-15T05:21:07.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-15T06:36:08.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Automaton","url":"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20261015-473585/","title":"Steamに「クリアして返金推奨」登山ゲーム『Refund This Game』出現。“実質無料”でクリア可能、2時間以内に登頂できるなら"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Refund This Game"],"studios":["Cactile Games"],"people":[],"type":"release","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}