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Epic Games Store Pulls Indie Horror Horses Hours Before Launch After Content Review

The developer cites PEGI 18 and ESRB M ratings, warning the loss of major stores threatens its survival.

Overview

  • Epic said Horses violated its Inappropriate Content and Hateful or Abusive Content policies, which cover sexual content labeling and prohibitions on promoting abuse including animal abuse.
  • Epic reported an Adults Only result from its IARC questionnaire and noted that AO-rated products are not allowed on the store except for certain blockchain or NFT cases.
  • Santa Ragione said Epic had previously approved builds and reversed course roughly 24 hours before release, then reviewed and upheld the developer's appeal.
  • Valve earlier reviewed a build and told the studio it would not ship Horses on Steam after concluding it did not meet Steam onboarding guidelines.
  • Horses is available on GOG, Itch, and Humble, as Santa Ragione reports about $100,000 invested and says the studio now faces likely shutdown without broader access.