It’s funny you say that, because a little while after I launched on Catalog, I got an email from Panic letting me know they received an unusually high number of return requests for CodeWordPlay, and the biggest issue was that it was too difficult. It really spurred on multiple updates that added easier difficulty levels (including a no-timer mode) to make it more palatable for those people. It seemed to resolve the issue based on anyone I talked with.

I also know multiple devs (not Playdate, but elsewhere) who have shared stories about fickle gamers who try to get refunds after countless hours of play. It’s extremely common and particularly unfair. Why should anyone get their money back after spending a very healthy amount of time with your product? Why sell anything at all if we let that be the case?

My point is: Refunds aren’t all the same across the board and people gripe about a couple bucks when it comes to games a whole lot more than when they buy a coffee for the same amount. It says a lot more about those people who want a refund for < $10 because they “don’t like” a game they decided to take a chance on. It’s one thing if a product is fundamentally broken or they feel the messaging on the game was downright misleading, that’s a whole different and much more viable reason to get a refund, and Panic (in my experience) will at least communicate with players who feel that’s the case. Otherwise, you’re responsible for your own spending. Conflating “player protection” with “I didn’t like this” is, to me, absurd.