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Valve Upholds Steam Ban on Indie Horror 'Horses' as Santa Ragione Warns of Possible Closure

Valve cites a 2023 review followed by extensive internal reconsideration before refusing distribution.

Overview

  • Valve blocked Horses from Steam in 2023, citing content that in its judgment appears to depict sexual conduct involving a minor, and marked the app as banned with no resubmissions accepted.
  • Santa Ragione disputes that characterization, says all characters are 20 or older, and replaced an early scene’s child with a twenty-something woman after the initial review.
  • In a new statement, Valve says it requested a playable build due to store-page concerns, played the submission, provided feedback, then extensively discussed and upheld a final refusal.
  • The studio says losing Steam removes access to roughly 75% of the PC market, jeopardizes recouping about $100,000 in costs, and could force it to wind down operations after limited post‑launch support.
  • Horses will release on December 2 for PC via Epic Games Store, GOG, Itch.io, and the Humble Store at around $4.99/€4.99.