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Gaming Guides

Consoles, handhelds and the hardware you play on. Not game reviews.

updated
Oct 7, 2026

September 20265 articles

Steam games and Steam hardware compared: two refund policies, from Valve’s own pages, read 21 September 2026. Clock starts: at purchase for games, at delivery for hardware bought from Steam. Window: 14 days for both. Use allowed: under 2 hours played, against what a shop test allows. Return postage: nothing to send, against yours, says the policy. Cancel before shipping: nothing ships, against within 24 hours. After the window: ask anyway, against warranty or local law.
Gaming · Guide

Steam Hardware Gets 14 Days From Delivery, Not 2 Hours

No playtime cap, but the unit has to pass as new, and Valve’s policy puts the return postage on you. Cancel within 24 hours to skip it all.

Resetting a Steam Deck: Valve's three routes, from its SteamOS recovery pages, read 19 September 2026. If it boots into Steam: Settings, System, Factory Reset, which wipes all local data, games included. If it reaches the menu: hold the three-dot button and power, then Erase user data, for when Steam will not load. If nothing works: a USB recovery image, then Re-image Device, which wipes everything and installs stock SteamOS. To keep your games: Previous B, or Repair SteamOS — try these before any wipe.
Gaming · Guide

Resetting a Steam Deck Wipes Every Game and Local Save

If it boots, the reset is in Settings, under System. If not, Valve has two more routes, and two repairs that keep your games.

Nintendo Switch update 23.0.0, from Nintendo's security advisory of 10 September 2026. Fixed in: Version 23.0.0, released 9 September. Affected: Switch, Lite and OLED below 23.0.0. Not affected: Switch 2, per Nintendo. Exposed features: Send to Smartphone; Mario Kart Live. Attack needs: Someone else to scan your QR code. Check it: System Settings, then System.
Gaming · Guide

Switch Update 23.0.0 Fixes a Flaw That Needs Your QR Code

Nintendo's advisory covers the original Switch, Lite and OLED. The attack only works if someone else scans the code on your screen.

Valve's refund rules: a game needs under two hours played within fourteen days; a pre-order's fourteen days runs from release but the two hours starts immediately; DLC, bundles, unredeemed gifts, redeemed gifts and Steam hardware each have their own condition.
Gaming · Guide

Steam's Refund Window Shuts Before Christmas

Two hours played, fourteen days from purchase. A game bought on Black Friday stops being refundable on 11 December.

Yearly cost of the cheapest tier including online console multiplayer: Nintendo Switch Online $19.99, PlayStation Plus Essential $79.99, Xbox Game Pass Essential $119.88.
Gaming · Guide

What a Console Costs After You Buy It

Online play runs $19.99 a year on Switch 2 and $119.88 on Xbox. Storage expansion differs just as sharply, and both are fixed when you buy.

August 20261 articles

A USB-C hub showing HDMI, USB and Ethernet ports.
Gaming · Guide

Do You Need a Dock for Your Steam Deck?

A hub, not a video upgrade. Valve's own specs put the official dock's display ceiling below what the Deck does over plain USB-C.