Fuck the devs (no offense Stardock ) I just got a free demo of every title in their catalogue.

I've been waiting for this for years. No longer will devs be able to release shitware without consequences. Just like retailers,  they'll have to deal with sales returns and allowances. No more open box/ broken seal non refundable policy crap. Welcome to the real world devs, where poor decisions have real  financial consequences.

I predict this will cut down on the massive quantity of early release games. Considering all the junk out there,  it's a good thing.

I like it too, DEMOS ARE BACK! I can finally try before I buy(without pirating things lol) again.

If Steam lets you inject unique data into clients you can simply have a hash in every client binary, the client can just shoot that hash at Stardock to see if the game is legit or not, if not, the game alters it's own binary and goes into a demo mode.


This is easy to circumvent(never let it talk to the internet) but it'll keep people from stealing a copy from Steam, they'll have to resort to regular piracy or get caught. Also, it only has to check ONCE(after the rebate window), so it's not always-online DRM.

 I've seen some devs cry they'll have to add full blown DRM, ugh, that just makes the pirate version better.

The general rule for DLC is no. But in some cases it may be allowed. I believe if you only put a DLC in your basket, the steam store will warn you at checkout if it's not refundable. At least I've seen that once or twice, but not sure if it's always shown when that's the case.