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Horses Remains Banned on Steam and Epic as GOG Sales Climb, Developer Flags Ongoing Risk

Platform opacity boosted visibility on smaller shops at the cost of financial security.

Overview

  • Valve reviewed Horses in 2023, provided feedback, and ultimately refused to ship it on Steam, according to the company’s statement.
  • Epic Games Store removed the game within a day of launch approval, citing violations of its Inappropriate Content and Hateful or Abusive Content policies.
  • Horses was briefly delisted from the Humble Store before being reinstated, and it continues to sell on GOG and itch.io.
  • Publicity from the bans pushed Horses into bestseller territory on GOG, with recent rankings placing it near the top of the store’s charts.
  • Santa Ragione says the studio recouped only part of its roughly $100,000 outlay and warns that opaque moderation may drive self-censorship among indie developers.