Why Paddle Paddle Paddle has ‘very positive’ reviews and 55,000 refunds

No matter how successful a game is, at least some copies will be returned to the store. Maybe the game doesn’t work, or the purchase was made in error. Whatever the reason, even a game that sells millions could still see hundreds of thousands of returned copies. We can only theorize: gaming companies usually don’t share data on returns. One Steam dev, however, is being refreshingly honest about his refunding woes.

Steam’s refund policy is fairly generous. All games can be returned for any reason, as long the purchase was within two weeks and the game has been played for under two hours. Those are the official rules, but there are plenty of stories from Steam customers who have received refunds despite technically not meeting them.

For most games, Valve’s return policy works fine. Developers who produce smaller games have a different story. For a long time now, indie creators have had no choice but to accept Valve’s inflexible return policies. Whether the game is supposed to last two hours or less doesn’t matter: the customer can still return it.

On Sunday, Mateo, the developer behind co-op friendslop game Paddle Paddle Paddle, expressed frustration with said return policies on social media. According to the indie dev, Paddle Paddle Paddle has been refunded 55,000 times. It’s not that Paddle Paddle Paddle is a bad game. The aquatic take on Super Monkey Ball has more than 1,300 reviews, and most of them are positive. The game costs $4.99, but is frequently on sale for $2.99 — so the price is arguably fair.

Mateo shared a screenshot of a positive review from a fan who played the game for about an hour and a half. “GREAT GAME,” the review exclaimed. Despite the enthusiasm, the player still refunded the game.

“Would be cool if you could finally do something about your refund policy… ” Mateo said, in a comment directed at Valve. “Got dozens of reviews like that and 21% refund rate even though the Reviews are 90% very positive…”

Mateo’s issue here is hardly a new one, but the severity of the numbers has kicked off discourse about Valve’s approach to game returns. Developers overwhelmingly agree that Valve needs a policy that accounts for shorter games. At least some gamers — who benefit the most from the policy — don’t feel the same. Paddle Paddle Paddle‘s top-voted review critiques the game while also calling out the developer for saying anything in the first place.

“There just isn’t enough content, game looks like a browser game, and was made rushed/in a short amount of time (the dev admits this himself),” the review states. “And yet the dev has the nerve to cry about refunds on X when he is trying to sell a browser game to you.”

According to estimates by Sensor Tower, the boating game has a median playtime of under two hours. Kotaku reports that the game’s gross revenue, before taking platform fees and chargebacks into account, is around $826,000. It may sound like a big number, but after refunds, taxes, and Valve’s cut, Mateo is taking home around $250,000.

For a 23-year-old who doesn’t make games full-time, and who developed the game in under two weeks, those are remarkable numbers. The developer has repeatedly expressed gratitude for his success. He’s supportive of Valve’s policy outside the context of small games. After 6.1 million views, the developer says he kind of regrets making the post — which might make people perceive him as an ingrate.

But the 55,000 figure is understandably harder to swallow when you know it includes people who say they love your game.