Replace, 12/03/25 5:22 PM:
The Humble retailer has since re-listed Horses on its platform, making it obtainable for buy as soon as once more. The headline and physique of the unique story has been amended under to have an effect on these adjustments. After the sport’s reinstatement, developer Santa Ragione supplied IGN the next assertion:
Briefly, their staff noticed the press protection and quickly delisted Horses to reevaluate it. After a full overview they decided that whereas the content material is heavy, nothing within the recreation warrants removing from their retailer.
We’re grateful to Humble for having reconsidered and for taking the time to take a look at the sport, though I want that they had knowledgeable us that this course of was ongoing! We’re completely happy that it has been resolved with the sport being again on the shop, and we want Steam and Epic would additionally rethink their stance based mostly on the precise recreation contents.
The unique story continues under.
Horses, a disturbing indie horror recreation, was set to launch yesterday on a number of digital storefronts, however up to now week, lots of these retailers have refused to record it, together with Steam, the Epic Video games Retailer, and the Humble Retailer, although the latter platform has since reversed the choice. It is a transfer that has sparked controversy on-line, with many decrying it as unjust censorship of the sport’s grownup themes. However what, precisely, is on this recreation that makes it so offensive? Every platform has launched its personal assertion, however in an interview with IGN, Pietro Righi Riva, co-founder of Horses developer Santa Ragione (which beforehand created titles like Saturnalia and Wheels of Aurelia), defined what he thinks occurred.
The titular horses aren’t, in actual fact horses – the sport’s major disturbing factor is that the farm the participant visits has a inhabitants of enslaved, nude people sporting horse masks. The controversy shouldn’t be solely associated to the nudity or enslavement, however a few character’s younger daughter and her proximity to the “horses.”
“The daughter needs to journey one of many horses (within the recreation the ‘horses’ are people sporting a horse masks) and will get to choose which one,” Riva informed IGN. “What adopted was an interactive dialogue sequence the place the participant is main, by a lead as in the event that they had been a horse, a unadorned grownup lady with a younger lady on her shoulders. The scene shouldn’t be sexual in any manner, however it’s attainable that the juxtaposition is what triggered the flag.”
Horses was rejected by Steam when it was submitted for overview in 2023. Riva claims Steam by no means gave him a particular second to clarify the rejection, however the rejection message included a line that learn, “No matter a developer’s intentions with their product, we is not going to distribute content material that seems, in our judgment, to depict sexual conduct involving a minor.” Assuming the difficulty was with the daughter character, they raised her age.
“Now we have since modified the character within the scene to be a twenty-something lady, each to keep away from the juxtaposition and extra importantly as a result of the dialogue delivered in that scene, which offers with the societal construction on the earth of Horses, works significantly better when delivered by an older character,” Riva’s assertion continues. Regardless of the adjustment, Steam has not modified course. Reportedly, even after repeated contact between Riva and varied representatives at Steam, he hasn’t even obtained affirmation of what scene or factor of the sport brought about the ban within the first place.
Yesterday, the ban expanded when the Epic Video games Retailer, which had been set to promote Horses, reversed course on the final minute. Regardless of reportedly approving the sport earlier within the yr, the sport was rejected 24 hours earlier than its deliberate launch. The sport has a retailer web page and every part, and on the time of writing, Horses remains to be listed as “coming quickly.” Developer Santa Ragione obtained the next assertion from the Epic Video games Retailer, and a consultant from Epic later confirmed to IGN that the assertion was correct:
We’re unable to distribute Horses on the Epic Video games Retailer as a result of our overview discovered violations of the Epic Video games Retailer Content material Pointers, particularly the ‘Inappropriate Content material’ and ‘Hateful or Abusive Content material’ insurance policies. The ‘Inappropriate Content material’ coverage prohibits content material which “comprises specific or frequent depictions of sexual habits or not appropriately labeled, rated, or age-gated.” The ‘Hateful or Abusive Content material’ coverage prohibits content material that promotes abuse and animal abuse. This content material is prohibited by our Pointers and can’t be distributed on the Epic Video games Retailer. Moreover, after we [Epic] stuffed out the IARC Questionnaire based mostly on the content material that we reviewed, it obtained an Grownup Solely (AO) score. Merchandise with AO rankings can’t be distributed on the Epic Video games Retailer (the one exception is for merchandise in instances the place an AO score was utilized solely because of the utilization of blockchain or NFT know-how). You may have some choices on learn how to transfer ahead: 1. You may make updates to your product to make sure compliance and resubmit it for overview. 2. Should you consider we made a mistake, you even have the flexibility to attraction this resolution. You’ll be able to attraction by replying to this electronic mail or creating a personal dialogue on our Developer Help website. Choose “Epic Video games Retailer” as the subject. 3. You can’t change the title or content material to repurpose it for an additional recreation. Should you select to not transfer ahead, we’ll refund your submission price for this product.
Riva has since claimed that the ban is extra doubtless because of the elevated media consideration following the information that Steam wouldn’t be itemizing the sport, however Epic has not confirmed this truth. Riva has additionally stated that the studio stuffed out its personal IARC questionnaire – a kind which evaluates the score of your recreation for PEGI, ESRB, and different online game content material score authorities – and in contrast to Epic’s AO score, Santa Ragione noticed its recreation marked as rated M for Mature.
Earlier as we speak, the sport was unavailable on the Humble video games retailer as effectively, however it has since been reinstated. You’ll be able to learn the developer’s full assertion concerning the Humble Retailer above, however the it claims the storefront merely quickly delisted the sport for additional overview.
In the meantime, Horses has remained obtainable on itch.io and GOG. It most likely goes with out saying, however the recreation comprises grownup and doubtlessly objectionable content material, so proceed to these hyperlinks with warning. It is at the moment one of many best-selling video games on GOG, as its bans have shone a highlight on it that it may not have in any other case obtained.
