Italian indie studio Santa Ragione saw its horror game banned by Epic Games just a day before release, after Steam had already done the same.
The legal dispute surrounding the horror game Horses is currently sparking heated discussions online. The reason for this is the recent ban of the game from the Epic Games Store just one day before its planned release date. Shortly before that, Steam had already issued a ban on distributing the game on its platform.
First Steam, Then Epic Games
Since 2023 there has been a conflict between Valve, the operator of the Steam platform, and the Italian indie studio Santa Ragione regarding the release of the indie horror game. According to the developers, the small studio was forced to fulfill unrealistic requirements, which led to a half-finished version with many placeholders being submitted to Valve, just so a Coming Soon page could go live at all.
Santa Ragione later provided a full version of the game that could be played from beginning to end. According to the co-founder, such requirements had never been demanded before. However, none of it helped, the game was still rejected by Valve.
With that heavy setback, the studio still hoped for a release through Epic Games, but 24 hours before launch the next hit against the indie-company followed: Epic Games announced that the game would not be distributed because it violated their guidelines.
This decision caused confusion within the gaming community. People are now speculating whether Epic Games may have made a knee-jerk decision out of fear of backlash.
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Violation Of Guidelines – The Studio Is Clueless
The studio states on its website that it has no idea what exactly caused the ban. Valve reportedly communicated very poorly and never made the exact reasoning for the ban clear.
The assumption from both the community and the studio was that the issue may have been a specific scene showing a child standing near an unclothed adult wearing a horse mask. That sounds reasonable at first, but becomes a bit unclear once the game's context is taken into account. The studio later changed the scene and replaced the child with an adult character.
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The studio claims that multiple appeals were answered only with automated replies. Even internal contacts within Steam responded only with negative outcomes. Valve issued a statement denying accusations that an AI made the decision.
Based on content in the store page, we told the developer we would need to review the build itself. This happens sometimes if content on the store page causes concern that the game itself might not fall within our guidelines.
According to Valve, a reversal of the ban was discussed thoroughly. In Epic Games’ case, the studio also claims to have no clear explanation for the decision.
The Ban Sparks Debate Over Artistic Freedom
Santa Ragione criticizes that the case feels reminiscent of “darker times.” Video games should be considered a form of art, and censorship has historically been used to evidently silence artists.
Some users online side with Valve. They argue that the studio should have anticipated the controversy surrounding a scene like this, regardless of the context, since it could still be interpreted as sexual.
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According to the studio, the deeper meaning behind Horses is a critique of power dynamics, exploitation, faith, and violence, with no pornographic intent at all. The community is partially skeptical, claiming the game contains several scenes with that kind of implication.
In the end, the decisions from Valve and Epic Games remain final for now. The game will still be released on alternative platforms such as itch.io, GOG, and Humble. Ultimately, everyone must decide for themselves whether to play it.
Whose side are you on – Valve’s or the studio’s? Should Valve become more transparent when issuing bans? Share your thoughts in the comments!