Italian indie studio Santa Ragione faces closure after their narrative horror game Horses was banned from both Steam and Epic Games Store despite having mature ratings and revising all potentially offensive content. Valve rejected the game in 2023 over what they described as content appearing to depict sexual conduct involving a minor, then refused all appeals and resubmissions even after changes. Epic Games approved the game for distribution, hosted a coming soon page, reviewed multiple builds over two months, then reversed course 24 hours before the December 2 launch claiming it violated inappropriate content policies. Horses launched anyway on GOG, Itch.io, and Humble Store on December 2, 2025, but without access to Steam and Epic – which control the vast majority of PC game sales – Santa Ragione says they invested over $100,000 and two years fighting platform rejections only to face studio shutdown.
What Steam Said and Didn’t Say
Santa Ragione wanted to create a Steam store page for Horses back in 2023 to build pre-launch interest through wishlisting. This is standard practice for indie developers who rely on Steam’s visibility algorithms. But Valve requested something unusual – they wanted to review a playable build before approving even a Coming Soon page. The studio scrambled to assemble a rough, incomplete version with tons of placeholders just to satisfy this requirement.
After reviewing that early build, Valve sent an email stating they couldn’t ship Horses on Steam. The key quote: “Although we aim to release the majority of titles we receive, we discovered that this particular title contains themes, visuals, or descriptions that we cannot distribute. No matter the developer’s intentions, we will not offer content that, in our view, seems to portray sexual activities involving a minor.”
Santa Ragione immediately pushed back, insisting everyone in the game is clearly older than 20 years old. But Valve’s policy includes a crucial caveat – even content falling into a “grey area” gets rejected. The example Valve gave: “if a game is set in a high school but claims all characters are of legal age, it might still be categorized as inappropriate and subsequently banned.” In other words, context and perception matter more than creator intent.
What Valve didn’t do is provide specific feedback about which scenes or content triggered the ban. Santa Ragione says they spent two years requesting clarification, asking what to change, and offering to revise anything problematic. Valve repeatedly pointed them to general guidelines without identifying specific issues. Worse, Valve implemented a no-resubmission policy – even with modifications, Horses would never be accepted on Steam.
The Scene That Probably Caused This
Santa Ragione has a theory about what triggered the ban. In the original 2023 build they submitted, one scene featured a young girl riding on the shoulders of a naked adult woman wearing a horse mask. The context was horror-themed and not sexual, but the optics are undeniably uncomfortable – a child in physical contact with a naked adult.
The studio immediately revised this scene, replacing the young girl with a “twenty-something woman” because, according to them, the dialogue and character dynamic worked better with an older character anyway. This change happened early in development, long before the game reached its final form. But Valve’s no-resubmission policy meant this revision didn’t matter – the initial impression had already sealed Horses’ fate.
This highlights a fundamental problem with content review processes that evaluate incomplete builds. Games in early development often contain placeholder content, rough implementations of ideas that will be refined, and experimental scenes that get cut during iteration. Judging a game permanently based on an alpha build is like canceling a movie based on rough dailies.
Epic’s Last-Minute Reversal
After the Steam rejection, Santa Ragione secured distribution through Epic Games Store, GOG, Itch.io, and Humble Store. Epic seemed like the solution – they hosted a coming soon page, reviewed multiple builds over two months, and approved the final version roughly 18 days before the December 2 launch. The store page displayed PEGI 18 and ESRB M ratings. Everything appeared ready.
Then, 24 hours before launch, Epic sent an email stating Horses violated their content guidelines. They cited “Inappropriate Content” and “Hateful or Abusive Content” policies. The explanation: when Epic filled out the IARC (International Age Rating Coalition) 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.
This contradicts the PEGI 18 and ESRB M ratings that had been displayed on the Epic store page for months. How does a game simultaneously receive Mature ratings from official rating boards but Adults Only from the same IARC system that feeds those boards? The inconsistency suggests either Epic made an error filling out the questionnaire, or the IARC system has serious problems with consistent evaluation.
Santa Ragione argues that Epic approved multiple builds, hosted the store page, and promoted the game for months before suddenly reversing course at the last possible moment. This left them scrambling to secure alternative distribution just hours before launch. Humble Store pivoted from distributing Epic keys to offering DRM-free direct downloads. The chaos created by Epic’s reversal cost Santa Ragione additional money and goodwill.
The Financial and Emotional Toll
Pietro Righi Riva, co-founder of Santa Ragione, wrote a brutally honest blog post about the experience. The studio invested over $100,000 developing Horses and fighting the Steam ban. They spent two years in appeals, revisions, and attempts to communicate with Valve. The rejection came at the worst possible time – Santa Ragione had other projects canceled or indefinitely delayed, making Horses critical to the studio’s survival.
Riva described the experience as “scary, humiliating, and patronising.” The lack of specific feedback from Valve meant they couldn’t fix the perceived problem. The no-resubmission policy meant even demonstrating compliance with guidelines wouldn’t help. And the vague reasoning – content that “appears” to depict something problematic – meant they were being judged on Valve’s subjective interpretation rather than any objective standard.
The studio is now facing closure. Without Steam and Epic distribution, Horses has no realistic path to commercial success. GOG, Itch.io, and Humble Store are valuable platforms, but they don’t provide the discoverability and reach that Steam and Epic offer. For small indie studios, being blacklisted from those two platforms is effectively a death sentence.
The Broader Pattern
Santa Ragione’s situation isn’t unique. Earlier in 2025, payment processors began imposing adult content restrictions on digital storefronts, leading to widespread censorship of games containing sexual content. But Horses isn’t an adult game – it’s a horror title with mature themes rated M by official rating boards. The fact that it got caught in the same content moderation dragnet shows how indiscriminate these policies can be.
The problem extends beyond sexual content. Valve and Epic have enormous discretionary power over what games can exist commercially on PC. Their content policies are deliberately vague, enforcement is inconsistent, and there’s no meaningful appeals process. Developers describe feeling like they’re navigating a maze blindfolded, hoping they don’t accidentally trigger a ban that will destroy their studio.
What’s Actually In Horses
So what is this game that caused so much controversy? Horses is a black-and-white narrative horror game exploring themes of trauma, memory, and psychological horror through surreal imagery. The visual style evokes early horror cinema with grainy film aesthetics and unsettling sound design. Players navigate dreamlike environments while uncovering a fragmented story told through symbolism and implication rather than explicit content.
The game deals with adult themes including abuse, trauma processing, and psychological breakdown. But according to Santa Ragione, there is no explicit sexual content, no depictions of minors in sexual situations, and all characters are clearly adults. The horror comes from atmosphere, psychological distress, and unsettling imagery – not shock value or exploitation.
Reviews from outlets that played the game describe it as “experimental,” “challenging,” and “not for everyone,” but none mention inappropriate sexual content. The consensus seems to be that Horses is weird and disturbing in the way arthouse horror films are weird and disturbing, not in a way that violates content standards.
Community Reactions
Reddit discussions show the community split between defending platform moderation rights and criticizing the lack of transparency. Some argue that Valve and Epic have every right to refuse games they find objectionable – it’s their platform, their rules. Others point out that without clear standards, consistent enforcement, or meaningful appeals, developers are at the mercy of arbitrary decisions.
One Reddit comment captured the frustration: “After 2 years and $100,000 invested, acclaimed indie studio is ‘likely closing’ due to Steam ban, says it was ‘tricked and betrayed’ by Valve.” The sentiment reflects how developers feel when they invest years and significant money into projects that get blacklisted without warning or recourse.
Some skeptics question whether Santa Ragione is being entirely honest about the game’s content. Maybe there really is something objectionable that they’re downplaying to generate sympathy. But the fact that official rating boards gave the game PEGI 18 and ESRB M ratings suggests professional reviewers didn’t find it beyond the pale. If anything, the inconsistency between official ratings and platform rejections suggests the platforms are more restrictive than actual censorship boards.
Where You Can Actually Play Horses
Despite the bans, Horses launched on schedule December 2, 2025, on GOG, Itch.io, and Humble Store. GOG and Itch.io are DRM-free platforms that give developers more control and take smaller revenue cuts than Steam or Epic. Humble Store pivoted to direct downloads after Epic’s rejection made their original plan (distributing Epic keys) impossible.
Players who want to support Santa Ragione can buy the game directly from these platforms. Reviews on GOG and Itch.io will help establish the game’s actual content and quality independent of platform censorship decisions. If Horses turns out to be a legitimate arthouse horror game unfairly targeted by overzealous moderation, community support could prove Valve and Epic wrong.
FAQs
Why was Horses banned from Steam?
Valve claimed the game contains content appearing to depict sexual conduct involving a minor based on a 2023 early build. Santa Ragione insists all characters are clearly adults over 20 and revised the one potentially problematic scene, but Valve refused to reconsider.
Why did Epic ban it 24 hours before launch?
Epic claimed the IARC questionnaire gave Horses an Adults Only rating, which Epic doesn’t distribute. This contradicted the PEGI 18 and ESRB M ratings displayed on the Epic store page for months.
Where can I play Horses?
The game launched December 2, 2025, on GOG, Itch.io, and Humble Store as a DRM-free direct download. It’s permanently banned from Steam and Epic Games Store.
What scene caused the ban?
Likely a scene in the 2023 build showing a young girl riding on the shoulders of a naked adult woman in a horse mask. Santa Ragione revised this early, replacing the girl with an adult woman, but Valve’s no-resubmission policy meant revisions didn’t matter.
Is Santa Ragione closing?
The studio says they face “high risk of closure” after investing over $100,000 and two years fighting platform rejections. Without Steam and Epic distribution, Horses has limited commercial viability.
Does Horses contain sexual content?
According to the developer, no. It’s a psychological horror game with mature themes about trauma and memory, but contains no explicit sexual content. Official rating boards gave it PEGI 18 and ESRB M ratings.
Can developers appeal Valve’s decisions?
No meaningful appeals process exists. Santa Ragione spent two years requesting clarification and offering revisions, but Valve repeatedly pointed to general guidelines without specific feedback and refused all resubmissions.
What is Valve’s policy on content moderation?
Deliberately vague. Valve reserves the right to reject content that “appears” to violate guidelines even if developer intent was innocent. Games set in schools can be banned even if all characters are stated to be adults.
Is this related to payment processor restrictions?
No. The Steam ban predates 2025’s payment processor crackdown on adult content. Horses is rated M, not AO, and doesn’t contain the sexual content those restrictions target.
Conclusion
Santa Ragione’s nightmare scenario shows the enormous power digital distribution platforms wield over indie developers and the devastating consequences when that power is exercised without transparency or accountability. Whether Horses actually contains inappropriate content or was unfairly targeted by overzealous content moderation remains debatable – but what’s indisputable is that a small studio invested over $100,000 and two years into a project only to have it blacklisted from the two platforms that control PC game distribution. No specific feedback about what to change. No meaningful appeals process. No opportunity to demonstrate compliance. Just permanent rejection based on subjective interpretation of an incomplete early build. The game exists on GOG, Itch.io, and Humble Store for anyone curious enough to judge for themselves whether it deserved this treatment. And Santa Ragione will likely close, another casualty of content moderation systems that prioritize liability protection over fair process.