Horses: The Newly-Released Banned Game on Steam and Epic Is Still Available on GOG

By Nathalie Duke Gaming News
3 December 2025 no comments

Horses is now only available on GOG and itch.io after it was banned first on Steam and then Epic Games Store, just before launch.

Santa Ragione’s newest game, Horses, has had a tough road getting released. First it was banned on Steam to even put up a store page, then just a day before its release yesterday, Epic Games pulled the plug too. Fortunately for those who want to experience this very dark and unsettling game, it’s still on GOG.

Horses Banned from Steam and Epic Games Store

First revealed several years ago, Santa Ragione’s horror title, Horses, drew attention for its deeply unsettling premise: a young man takes a summer job at a remote horse farm, only to discover the “horses” are actually enslaved, naked humans wearing horse masks. That disturbing setup earned the project a cult following, but it has now run into major distribution walls on PC’s two biggest platforms.

The first blow came from Steam. Santa Ragione submitted an early build back in 2023 so the studio could create a store page. After reviewing it though, Valve rejected it, citing, “Regardless of a developer’s intentions with their product, we will not distribute content that appears, in our judgment, to depict sexual conduct involving a minor.”

According to reporting and the developer’s public statements, the rejection centered on a scene in that early build showing a fully clothed child riding on the shoulders of one of the nude “horses.” Santa Ragione argued the moment was non-sexual and symbolic, but later replaced the child with an adult to appease any misrepresentation. But Valve refused to accept a resubmission, and so the ban sticks.

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— Firm, But Whole (@pickyourownnose) December 2, 2025

After that, it seemed like it was on its way to launch on Epic Games Store, GOG, and itch.io. However, just one day before release, Epic told Santa Ragione it would not distribute the game after all, despite the build being approved weeks earlier.

While Epic did not point to a specific scene or provide a clearer breakdown, it did mention that the game violated Epic’s “Inappropriate Content” and “Hateful or Abusive Content” policies. Alongside confirming the decision, an Epic rep claimed that Horses couldn’t be sold because AO-rated games aren’t allowed on the Epic Games Store.

But screenshots captured while the store page was live showed a PEGI 18 rating and Santa Ragione later said on a Bluesky thread that the game carries an M IARC rating, directly contradicting Epic’s AO IARC claim.

Even with both Steam and Epic cut off, Horses hasn’t been erased from PC entirely. The game remains available on GOG and itch.io (confirmed to be coming to Humble too). The storefront has also publicly defended the game’s availability, saying it wants adults to be free to choose what they play.

GOG framed its stance as a principled commitment to player choice, signalling that Horses will stay available there for the foreseeable future.

Horses is a short, first-person psychological horror game that puts you in the role of Anselmo, a troubled 20-year-old sent to work two weeks on a rural farm. From the moment you arrive, you’re confronted with the farm’s grotesque secret: the “horses” are actually naked humans with horse masks permanently fixed to their heads. The game’s core aim is moral discomfort as it has you carry out increasingly distressing chores that feed into the farmer’s sick power fantasy, forcing you to participate in acts that clash with your own ethics.

Santa Ragione even opens with a heavy content warning for themes like gore, psychological abuse, suicide, and the likelihood of being pushed into morally oppositional actions.

Horses officially launched on December 2, 2025 for PC via GOG and itch.io, with a Humble launch coming afterwards.

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Nathalie Duke

Sending some gaming news your way from a surfing paradise island. Loves creating content, and researching informative facts and useless trivia. A novice in the gaming industry but a veteran in communications and publication.

Horses: The Newly-Released Banned Game on Steam and Epic Is Still Available on GOG

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