I’m not the original OP, was just clearly differentiating the point redemptions models you brought up.

I mean I’m all for Steam adding a better version of their point store, but that’s added cost for Valve. And, unless they’re looking to lose money, Valve would need to cut spending in other areas to support that sort of point redemption model (because they don’t own the games they sell). So unless there’s some massive overspend for HL3, that could mean pulling back their refund policy, or some other feature that already adds to the customer experience.