Steam Bans Disturbing New Horror Game

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A new horror game has been banned from Steam, a very popular platform for PC gamers. The game’s developers are worried this could force them to shut down their studio. While other platforms like the Epic Games Store exist, Steam remains a leading choice due to its ease of use, excellent customer support, and features like the Steam Deck. Steam hosts everything from huge, well-known games to small independent titles, but it’s recently faced some controversy with this ban.

It’s become more difficult to release adult games on Steam lately, though the exact reasons for these rejections aren’t clear. While Steam does allow sexually explicit content, it requires all characters to be portrayed as legal adults. This is more permissive than platforms like Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo, which don’t allow such games at all. Steam has traditionally been known as a very open platform, but recently, there’s been an increase in games being rejected, leaving some developers confused.

New Horror Game, Horses, Banned on Steam; Developer Speaks Out Against Censorship

A new Italian horror game called Horses, developed by Santa Ragione, is generating buzz. Releasing on December 2nd, the game follows a man who takes a summer job caring for horses on a farm. The unsettling twist? The “horses” are actually people wearing horse masks, chained up and involved in strange, cult-like activities. While disturbing and graphic, the game isnā€™t the most extreme content available on Steam.

Pietro Righi Riva, co-founder of the game’s studio, explained to IGN that Valve removed Horses from Steam around two years ago after they submitted an early, unfinished version ā€“ as per Valveā€™s rules. Despite years of trying, the team never received a clear explanation for the rejection. They even tried to modify the game to meet Valve’s requirements, but nothing helped. Ultimately, Horses needs to be released because the small, independent studio has limited funds and canā€™t afford to wait indefinitely for Steam to reconsider.

Because of this, the game Horses will be released on platforms like the Epic Games Store, GOG, and Itch.io, though Itch.io has faced some criticism. However, the developers worry the game wonā€™t succeed without being on Steam, as that platform provides the most exposure to PC gamers. Theyā€™ve publicly criticized Steam, calling its policies harmful to artistic expression, pointing out that platforms like Netflix readily host mature content.

Our goal is to create mature and thought-provoking stories. The game Horses uses shocking and unconventional visuals to explore themes of power, religion, and violence, as explained in our FAQ. We donā€™t believe in censoring art based on personal opinions about whatā€™s offensive, as this echoes a history where vague ideas of ‘good taste’ were used to suppress creativity. We see games as an art form, and believe adults should be able to access legal content without unnecessary restrictions.

We believe players deserve to experience games as the developers created them, and adults should be able to decide what they want to play. Itā€™s unfair for a single store, like Steam, to hide the reasons why certain legally created games arenā€™t available. Steam claims to rely on algorithms for sales, but then censors games based on the platform ownersā€™ personal artistic preferences. This creates a situation where developers start to self-censor, avoiding topics they fear might be rejected.

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2025-11-25 23:10