Gaming

How to get a refund from the PlayStation Store


So you bought something from the PlayStation Store, and it doesn’t work for you? Whether you purchased a game by mistake or just decided that you’d rather have your money back, getting a refund is now as simple as chatting with a representative for a few minutes. Sony’s new refund policy covers preorders, games, DLC, subscriptions, and movies, and it means no more filling out refund forms and sending them into the void.

Even though the new refund policy is more comprehensive, there’s still a big caveat: once you’ve downloaded your purchased content, you’re ineligible for that refund. If you’ve preordered a title, you can get a refund any time before it releases. But once the game preloads onto your console, you’re out of luck — even if you haven’t played it.

We’ll walk you through the steps needed to get a refund and tell you how to prevent preordered games and other content from auto-downloading in the future.


On mobile (left), you’ll see the option to chat by scrolling to the bottom of the page. On your desktop browser (right), the chat option is located on the right side of the page. No scrolling necessary.

Chat with PlayStation support to get a refund

There’s currently no option on your PS4 console to initiate a refund. You’ll need to head to the PlayStation support page on your phone or computer’s browser, and click on the blue “Chat” window. Be prepared to provide answers to simple questions about your account from the support team in order to authorize the refund.

Your purchase of a preordered title can be refunded via the original payment method, but for all other types of content purchased on the PlayStation Store, your PSN wallet will be credited. Obviously, having the money back in your checking or credit account is preferable, so it’s worth asking politely if the purchase can be refunded to your bank account or PayPal instead.

Subscriptions to PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now can be refunded, too, though your PSN wallet may be credited a different amount from the original purchase price, depending on how long you’ve had the subscription.

How to turn off automatic downloads

If you’re someone who preorders a lot of games, there’s a step you can take to ensure that you can request a refund if you’d like to. You’ll only be eligible for a refund if you haven’t downloaded or preloaded your purchases. So, unfortunate as it is, you’ll need to turn off your PS4’s handy, time-saving Automatic Downloads feature.

Turning off this feature presents more downsides than positives. While it allows you to request a refund, the system will no longer download your games while you’re doing other things. Instead, you’ll need to manually download and install your games during your free time. This will impact titles that you already play as well since you’ll need to manually install updates. But if that’s not a big deal to you or if your internet speeds are really fast, it’s a little less of a burden.

To make sure that your preorders don’t preload, first navigate to the top-level row of options, then click on “Settings.”


Scroll down to the “System” setting, and tap “X” on the controller.


The second setting from the top is “Automatic Downloads.” Hit that option.


Lastly, deactivate the setting “Application Update Files.” This will disable your PS4 from fetching and installing updates and preload data.

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