Why Steams Return Policy Will Never Change

Many Indie Devs are worried about steams 2 hour return policy. Some believe it is being abused in great numbers, enough to cause indie developers to not be able to make a living. So I did many hours of research to figure out how big the issue is, as well as if it could ever be changed.

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00:00 - Summer of '58 Outcry and Steam Return Policy
01:27 - Why Steam Won't Change
01:50 - Proactive vs Reactive Systems
02:19 - Why Reactive Won't Work
02:56 - Why Proactive Won't Work (The Math)
04:01 - Elective Refunds
04:34 - Maybe Lord Gaben
04:48 - The Only Way Steam Would Change
05:24 - Miziziziz's Solution
06:12 - Return Abuse is Not Common
06:29 - Games are Not Pizza
06:55 - Take Responsibility

Music from Uppbeat:
"Catch My Breath" by Ambient Boy
License code: SPMY1DM2EXK4IBCP

If you care, here are sources as seen in small clips throughout the video:
Steams policy: https://store.steampowered.com/steam_refunds/
Epic Games policy: https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/store-refund-policy
GOG return policy: https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011314978-How-do-I-refund-a-game-?product=gog
Itch.io retund policy: https://itch.io/docs/legal/terms#9-refunds

Original "Summer of '58" Tweet: https://twitter.com/EmikaGames/status/1430941640001265673
Link to the game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1609080/Summer_of_58/

Regarding "Summer of '58" Outcry:
Kotaku article on "summer of '58" dev's tweet: https://kotaku.com/steams-two-hour-refund-policy-forces-horror-developer-i-1847568067
Euro Gamer Article on "summer of '58" dev's tweet: https://www.eurogamer.net/steams-two-hour-refund-policy-leads-to-indie-developer-quitting-game-development
Fanbyte article on "summer of '58" dev's tweet: https://www.fanbyte.com/news/steams-two-hour-refund-policy-continues-to-hurt-developers-of-small-games/
Reddit discussion on the subject: https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/pct7mg/steams_2_hour_refund_policy/

Number of games release each day:
Steam Spy: https://steamspy.com/year/
Game World Observer Article: https://gameworldobserver.com/2022/01/24/more-than-11k-games-released-on-steam-in-2021-with-30-titles-coming-out-daily#:~:text=Evgeny%20Obedkov-,More%20than%2011k%20games%20released%20on%20Steam%20in%202021,30%20titles%20coming%20out%20daily

How much does a game make on Steam?
VG Insights: https://vginsights.com/insights/article/infographic-indie-game-revenues-on-steam
Into Indie Games article: https://www.intoindiegames.com/how-much-money-do-steam-games-make/
Games Industry article: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/mike-rose-indie-developers-are-pricing-their-steam-games-too-low
Ars Technica article: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/04/ars-analysis-80-of-steam-games-earn-under-5k-in-first-two-weeks/
Finances Online statistics: https://financesonline.com/steam-statistics/

What is the typical Steam return rate?
Game Developer article debunking "Summer of '58" return rate: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/analysis-what-s-with-steam-refunds-and-short-games-
Game World Observer mini article: https://gameworldobserver.com/2020/10/14/simon-carless-refund-rate-significant-metric#:~:text=In%20the%20latest%20entry%20to,be%20as%20high%20as%2020%25.
Reddit discussion of Acceptable return rates on Steam: https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/905re1/what_are_acceptable_steam_refund_rates/
Game Industry Article: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/steam-refunds-not-harming-sales-slitherine

Miziziziz Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_msFFKlrMY

Other random stuff:
Tweet showing positive review + return: https://twitter.com/OctaviNavarro/status/1552941109294383104
Tweet showing poll of who would return a short game:
https://twitter.com/Quthulhu/status/1552922383882895360
Game that wouldn't work on my laptop: https://store.steampowered.com/app/387990/Scrap_Mechanic/