Summary
TheSteamcommunity has been left baffled after a fellow user shared a rather bizarre glitch that causes the total hours of playtime in a game to decrease whenever they play it. While rare, it’s not completely unheard of forSteamto experience a visual glitch now and then, but there’s one reason why this specific glitch could be unfortunate for Valve.
Since its release all the way back in 2003, Steamhas remained one of the most popular digital storefronts for PC gamers. While many users will simply use the platform to purchase and play new games, Valve also develops and publishes its own games, with the likes ofPortalandLeft 4 Deadbeing some of themost highly-rated games on Steam. Many other studios, such as Epic Games, have attempted to take on Steam with its own competitors in recent years, but all have failed to topple the gigantic storefront.
Despite Steam being the most popular digital storefront for PC users, it’s still prone to a few glitches occasionally. Over on the Steam subreddit, Reddit user TheSibyllineBooks has baffled the community after sharing images of a pretty rare glitch. According to the user, whenever they start to play a game, the total number of hours listed under play time decreases, rather than increases. They also stated that this strange glitch isn’t just associated with a single game, as it is seemingly occurring with every title they play.
Steam Users Left Baffled by Weird Glitch
The image shared by the Reddit user shows arougelike space combat game calledNova Drift, decreasing by almost four hours after the user played it. While some users threw around possible causes for the glitch, such as a loss of internet connection whilst playing, Reddit user TuckerMyau chimed in to reveal that the strange glitch had also happened to them whilst playing offline on their Steam Deck.
But what really left the community stumped was what would happen if the user experiencing the glitch attempted to refund it once it dipped below a certain threshold. If a user wants torefund a game on Steam, there are a few requirements that they must meet. The first is that the refund request must be placed within fourteen days of the game’s purchase, and the second is that it must be played for less than two hours. While attempting to take advantage of this glitch is not advised due to it breaking Steam’s terms of service, but it’s likely only a visual one, meaning Valve would have the actual play time stored in its database.
There have been occasional instances in the past whereSteam has refunded titles such asHelldivers 2,even if players have more than two hours of playtime, but these are usually rare circumstances caused by something out of the player’s control. In the case ofHelldivers 2,refunds were issued due to Sony forcing players to link their Steam and PSN accounts, but this was later walked back due to a massive outcry from the community.
Steam
Steam is a digital video game storefront and program developed by Valve that allows gamers to purchase, play, and mod their titles all through one convenient program.
