The Italian indie horror game Horses by Santa Ragione has been banned from Steam due to its explicit content, sparking debate over censorship on Valve’s dominant PC game platform. The game, featuring unsettling live-action sequences with naked people wearing horse masks and exploring dark themes over 14 days on a horse farm, was rejected by Steam in mid-2023 for vague reasons related to content Valve deemed unacceptable, including concerns about depictions that might imply sexual conduct involving minors. Despite the developer’s willingness to modify content, Valve refused to authorize the game, forcing Santa Ragione to release Horses on alternative platforms like Epic Games Store, GOG, and Itch.io, and seek private funding to complete the project.
Santa Ragione criticizes Valve’s decision as vague and unfounded, noting that no characters or scenes fall into the problematic categories Steam cited. The developers suspect an early, incomplete scene involving a young girl and an adult woman may have triggered the ban, which they have since altered. Without access to Steam’s vast user base, the studio faces financial difficulties and fears it may not recoup its $100,000 investment. Valve maintains its stance, citing adherence to guidelines and payment processor rules, leaving the future of Horses on Steam uncertain amid wider concerns about the power of digital storefronts to restrict artistic expression.
