In the aftermath of Cloud Imperium Games giving Derek Smart an unrequested refund of his Star Citizen pledge, we thought it might be interesting to see how many site readers would favour a broader refunding option.
Presently, the CIG Terms of Service (that you have to sign up to in order to donate money) does not offer provision for a refunds process. Extraordinary circumstances (such as Mr. Smart’s) have resulted in refunds, but the general Star Citizen PR line is that all pledges go towards development – and therefore opening up a wider system of refunds would potentially undermine the game’s revenue stream.
The persistent (and as yet legally unchallenged) question is whether the Terms of Service for a US-based company would trump European Union legislation about the sale of digital goods (under which a refund option would be mandatory.)
That’s a conundrum which may well remain unanswered, but across the PC Invasion readership opinion is fairly divided over whether player refunds would be a good idea.
We asked this question in a strictly either-or fashion, and the response “No, players had a free choice whether to pledge, and that money is necessary for development” narrowly triumphed with 52% of the vote.
“Yes, players should always have a refund option” secured 48%.
Here’s the final tally. Or newest poll asks whether you’re planning to make the big switch to Windows 10.
[poll id=”5″]