Pokémon Scarlet and Violet hasn’t had the smoothest of launches despite dominating sales in some countries. The 2022 franchise follow-up has been rocked with performance issues from day one, and they’ve persisted ever after a patch.
But while some players claim Nintendo support has told them they’ve received no complaints about it, it hasn’t deterred many others from requesting refunds.
At the moment, Nintendo seems to be approving them—particularly for digital versions on the Nintendo eShop.
“I was just approved for a refund of my digital purchase of Pokémon Violet,” said one player. “If you bought this on the Nintendo eShop, just know you can call in and get a refund. They said it would be a one time exception to their digital refund policy. Truly sad, but at least I get my money back.”
“Just got approved for an eShop refund for my Pokémon Scarlet preorder. If you’re not liking the game, I urge you to do so as well,” said another. “A lot of people don’t know this, but Nintendo will, on rare circumstances, offer a one-time refund for you.”
Thousands of other frustrated Scarlet and Violet players upvoted their posts and hundreds more left comments—some of which confirmed they’d be seeking a refund, too.
Can you get a refund for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?
Generally speaking, Nintendo has a strict policy of not refunding the games you dislike or if you make a reckless purchase.
Nintendo advises players to read the reviews from websites that normally review the games and to fully read the description of the game they intend to buy. Since the community has been teeming with rage and disappointment due to performance issues, players have started to report that they are, in fact, getting refunds for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Although this method does not guarantee you a refund, you can still try. To start this process, visit the Nintendo Customer Support page and initiate a chat with a customer support agent after selecting Nintendo Switch, Downloads and Digital Content, Nintendo eShop, and Refunds.
Bear in mind that Nintendo’s customer support is currently swamped with tickets and you might not even get a response, let alone a refund. It’s still worth a shot if you’re deeply disappointed with what was supposed to be your next favorite game.
As for whether the issues will be ironed out in a future patch, or if that’s even possible given how prevalent they’ve been, Game Freak has not yet confirmed plans.
