Paying for games in the UK

The five ways money reaches a game

Almost every purchase on the chart runs through one of five routes. They are not equal: some keep a legal safety net behind you and some quietly drop it.

Nobody may charge you extra for paying by card

Since 13 January 2018 it has been unlawful for a UK retailer to add a fee because you chose a consumer debit or credit card, or PayPal, under the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012. A game store may still set one price and offer a discount for another route, but it cannot penalise the card. If a checkout adds a "card fee", that is a reason to stop.

Section 75: the credit-card safety net

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes your credit-card issuer jointly responsible with the seller when a single item costs more than £100 and no more than £30,000. It covers misrepresentation and breach of contract, so a game that never arrives, or a pre-order that is cancelled without a refund, can be claimed from the card company as well as the store.

Three limits matter for games:

• The £100 threshold is per item. A £59.99 game does not qualify on its own, even if the basket comes to more than £100.
• The chain of debtor, creditor and supplier must be intact. Paying a store through PayPal, or by buying a gift card first, usually breaks it. If Section 75 matters to you, pay the store directly with the credit card.
• Credit cards are 18+. Younger players pay by debit card, gift card or through a parent's account, which is exactly where the spending limits come in.

Chargeback: the rule behind every card

Chargeback is not a law. It is a rule of the card schemes (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) that lets your bank reverse a payment when goods or services were not provided, were not as described, or were charged twice. It works on debit cards, credit cards and prepaid cards. Time limits vary by scheme and reason, and are often around 120 days from the payment or the date you expected delivery, so raise it promptly. Ask your bank for "a chargeback" by name; the first line of support does not always offer it.

Unauthorised payments

If a payment was made without your permission, for instance from a stolen card or a compromised account, the Payment Services Regulations 2017 say the bank must refund it, normally by the end of the next business day. Your own liability for payments made before you reported a lost or stolen card is capped at £35, and there is no liability at all where you could not have known the card was gone. Report it the moment you notice; delay is the one thing that weakens the claim.

Your rights over the game itself

Digital content bought by a consumer is covered by Chapter 3 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. In plain terms:

• The game must be of satisfactory quality, fit for its purpose and as described (sections 34 to 36).
• If it isn't, you are entitled to a repair or replacement first, and to a price reduction or refund if that fails or cannot be done in reasonable time (sections 43 and 44).
• If a digital product damages your device or other digital content, and the trader failed to take reasonable care, you can claim compensation or a repair (section 46).

"As described" is the useful one. A store page that promises a feature the game does not have is a description, and a broken description is a breach.

The 14-day cancellation right, and how you lose it

The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you 14 days to cancel most online purchases. For downloads there is a catch in regulation 37: the right ends as soon as the download begins, provided you expressly agreed to that and acknowledged you would lose the right. That is what the "I agree to immediate access" checkbox at checkout does.

The stores have added their own policies on top. Steam refunds almost any purchase requested within 14 days with under two hours played; PlayStation and Xbox refund within 14 days if you have not started the download, with discretion after that; Nintendo is the strictest and generally does not refund. In-game currency and battle passes are usually excluded everywhere once used.

Prices must be the whole price

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 tightened the rules on how prices are presented. Since 6 April 2025 it has been unlawful to hide mandatory fees until late in a checkout, and to publish or commission fake reviews. Subscription contracts get their own regime in 2027, including clearer reminders before a trial converts to a paid plan. On the chart we quote the price you would actually pay on the UK store on the date shown.

Buy now, pay later

Some checkouts now offer to split a purchase into instalments. From 15 July 2026 these products fall under Financial Conduct Authority regulation, which brings affordability checks and complaint rights. For a game it rarely makes sense: the amounts are small, the instalments are easy to forget, and a missed payment can affect your credit file. We do not link to any lender.

What each game on the chart actually costs

Every chart entry has a "toll" section with the UK price of the base game, the price of the things it sells inside, and a straight answer on whether any of them are randomised. The quick version:

A short checklist before you pay

1. Is the price on the checkout the price on the store page? If a fee appeared, stop.
2. Is this a single item over £100? If so, paying the store directly with a credit card keeps Section 75.
3. Do you need the 14-day cancellation right? If so, do not start the download until you are sure.
4. Is it a gift card? Only buy from a shop you chose yourself, and only for yourself or someone you know.
5. Is a child involved? Set the platform limits first; they are free and take five minutes.