Horses, a black-and-white narrative horror game by Italian indie studio Santa Ragione, has been banned from both Steam and the Epic Games Store after separate content guideline disputes. The game launched on December 2, 2024 exclusively through GOG and itch.io, and was eyeing both Steam and the Epic Games Store for a wider release.
The game depicts a world where wealthy elites treat humans as horses. Players navigate themes of dehumanization, abuse, and class exploitation through stylized, disturbing imagery. All nudity in the released version is pixelated, and the developers label it as social critique rather than erotic content.
Steam rejected Horses back in 2023 during development. The platform reviewed an early build that included a scene where the player character’s young daughter rides on the shoulders of a naked adult woman acting as a “horse.” The conversation in the scene was philosophical, not sexual.
Valve flagged this as sexual content involving a minor under Steam’s content policies. The ruling was permanent, and Steam’s one-strike policy for this category means no resubmission is allowed, even with edits. The app ID was banned forever.
The studio attempted to dispute the issue
Santa Ragione rewrote the scene after the rejection. In the final version, the daughter is now an adult in her 20s. All characters in the released game are over 20 years old. The developers say Valve never provided specific feedback about what needed changing, just cited policy.
This is not the first time games have been removed without recourse from Steam over innappropriate content. Earlier this year, payment processors forced Steam to remove games in a move driven by conservative activist group Collective Shout, causing many to question how this type of lobbying could be used to overreach again in future.
Epic Games Store, on the other hand, initially approved Horses. The platform hosted a coming soon page and reviewed multiple builds over two months. Epic approved the final build roughly 18 days before the planned December 2 launch. The store page showed PEGI 18 and ESRB M ratings.
Then, 24 hours before release, Epic sent an email stating the game violated content guidelines. Epic cited “Inappropriate Content” and “Hateful or Abusive Content” policies. The platform claimed that when they filled out the IARC questionnaire for the game, it received an Adults Only rating. Epic doesn’t distribute AO-rated games except those rated AO solely due to blockchain features.
Santa Ragione disputes Epic’s characterization, saying its official IARC submission returned PEGI 18 and ESRB M ratings, not AO. These ratings appeared on Epic’s own store page before the ban. The developers note the game contains only four brief, censored sexual sequences across three hours of gameplay.
It took 12 hours for Epic to respond with an automated message saying the decision stood after “extensive review.” No detailed breakdown of which content triggered the ban was provided.
IGN received its review copy through Epic’s backend before the ban, suggesting functional release builds were live on the platform. The timing caught Santa Ragione by surprise with no clear path to fix unspecified violations.
Why this matters for indie developers
Steam and Epic control the vast majority of PC game sales. Being blocked from both platforms cuts off not just revenue but also discoverability through wishlisting, recommendations, and community features. For small studios making experimental or boundary-pushing work, a single misstep during development can now mean permanent exclusion.
The lack of specific feedback from either platform left Santa Ragione unable to address concerns. Steam’s no-resubmission policy punishes early builds even when offensive content gets removed before launch. Epic’s last-minute reversal after approving multiple builds raises questions about consistency in their review process.
