How do I reduce refunds on my game?

Fix the early-experience issues that drive refunds (crashes, bugs, lost progress, performance in the first sessions), give new players a working start that wins them over, and monitor the result. Since refunds largely come from a bad early experience (they happen in the refund window, the first session or two), reducing them means making the early experience solid. Find the early-experience issues (capture crashes and check what players hit in the first sessions, the refund window), fix the high-impact ones (the early-game crashes and bugs turning new players into refunders before the game hooks them), ensure a smooth launch and first session (the game starts reliably, runs acceptably, does not lose progress), and monitor (watch whether early crashes drop and refunds follow). A player with a clean, engaging early experience is far less likely to refund. Bugnet captures the early-game crashes (with timing and context to find what refunders hit), ranks by impact (so you fix the biggest refund drivers), and tracks per version (so you confirm the early crashes dropped and watch refunds ease), helping you reduce the technical refund drivers and keep more players past the refund window.

Do crashes cause refunds?

Yes, crashes are a significant refund driver, especially crashes in the early experience, because a player who hits a crash before the game wins them over often refunds rather than pushing through. A crash is a jarring, broken experience, and a new player who has not yet invested (still in the refund window, still deciding) reacts to a crash by concluding the game is broken or not worth the hassle, and refunds. This is especially true for early crashes (launch crashes, first-session crashes), which hit before the player has any investment or reason to tolerate problems. Crashes that lose progress are even more likely to drive refunds. The connection is strong enough that a crash spike often coincides with a refund increase. Bugnet captures crashes from the field with timing, so you can see whether players hit crashes early (in the refund window) and whether crash spikes coincide with refund increases, identify the early crashes driving refunds, fix them by impact, and confirm refunds ease as the early crashes drop, directly connecting crash-fixing to refund reduction.

Why is my game getting refunded?

Often because players hit a crash, bug, or bad experience early, before the game wins them over, refunds frequently come from a broken early experience, not the game's core. Refunds (especially on platforms with easy refund windows) usually happen early, when a player is still deciding whether the game is worth keeping. A player who hits a crash on launch, a bug breaking the first level, lost progress, or performance so bad the game feels broken, all in that early window, is likely to refund, because the game has not yet given them a reason to push through. So a common refund driver is early-experience issues. Other causes exist (the game is not what they expected, content length), but technical problems early are a major, fixable driver. Bugnet captures crashes from the field with timing and context, so you can see whether players hit crashes early (in the refund window), rank those early-game issues by impact, and fix them, then monitor whether refunds ease, connecting the early crashes (a fixable refund driver) to the refund outcome.

Ways to Reduce Refunds

Quick answer: Fix the early-experience crashes and bugs that drive refunds, ensure a good first session that wins players over before the refund window closes, and monitor whether crashes coincide with refund increases.

Refunds often come from players hitting a crash or bug early, before the game wins them over. Here are the best ways to reduce refunds.

Fix the Early-Experience Issues

Reduce refunds by fixing the early-experience crashes and bugs that drive them, since refunds largely happen early (in the refund window), when a player who hits a crash or broken experience refunds before the game hooks them. Fixing early issues keeps players past the window.

Bugnet captures crashes with timing, so you can see what players hit early (in the refund window) and fix the high-impact early issues driving refunds before the game can win players over.

Ensure a Good First Session

Reduce refunds by ensuring a good first session, a working start, good performance, and an engaging opening, so players are won over before the refund window closes. A clean, engaging early experience earns the player's investment.

Bugnet captures crashes and performance with timing, so you can see and fix the early issues souring the first session, ensuring new players have a working experience that hooks them before they consider a refund.

Monitor Whether Crashes Drive Refunds

Reduce refunds by monitoring whether crashes coincide with refund increases, so you can confirm crashes are driving refunds and that fixing them eases the refund rate. Connecting crashes to refunds tells you what to fix.

Bugnet captures crashes from the field with timing, so you can see whether crash spikes coincide with refund increases (the players hitting crashes refunding) and confirm refunds ease as you fix the early crashes.

Reduce refunds by fixing the early-experience crashes and bugs that drive them, ensuring a good first session that wins players over before the refund window closes, and monitoring whether crashes coincide with refund increases.