I bought a game on Steam last week for $40 and it won't launch on my computer - just crashes immediately. I've tried reinstalling and updating drivers but nothing works. The store page says all sales are final, but the product literally doesn't work for me. Do I have any consumer rights here, or am I just out the money?
steam has a pretty solid refund policy - you can request a refund within 14 days of purchase if you've played for less than 2 hours, which sounds like your situation. even if you're outside that window, a non-functional product is different from just not liking the game, so it's worth contacting steam support directly and explaining that it won't launch at all. they're usually reasonable about technical issues, and worst case they'll decline but you lose nothing by asking. if steam refuses, you might have consumer protection rights depending on your location (a lot of places require digital goods to be in working condition), but steam's support is honestly your best first move.
Don't just accept "all sales are final" as gospel - that disclaimer doesn't override consumer protection laws in most countries, and Steam actually honors refunds pretty aggressively for broken games even outside the standard 14-day window if the product is genuinely unplayable. Since your game crashes on launch, you've got a legit case for a defective product, which is different from just not liking what you bought. Hit up Steam support with details about the crash and what you've already tried, and mention it's a technical issue making the game unplayable - they take that seriously and will usually refund you even if you're past the normal window.
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