This Indie Horror Was Banned From Steam — Valve Still Won’t Say Why

Why this matters: a small game exposing a big platform problem

This caught my attention because Santa Ragione’s Horses isn’t a AAA spectacle – it’s a compact, unsettling first-person horror that was quietly banned from Steam in 2023 before many players even knew it existed. That matters because when a single platform with massive reach refuses a title without explanation, the decision ripples: developers lose their biggest storefront, players miss out on discovery, and we get no clarity about what crossed the line.

• Horses was removed from Steam in 2023 with no public explanation from Valve.
• The game features scenes of naked humans wearing horse masks; Santa Ragione insists it isn’t pornographic.
• Horses will launch on Dec. 4 on Epic Games Store, Humble Store, GOG and itch.io for $5.

Key takeaways

• Valve’s silence is the story here – we still don’t know what exact policy Horses supposedly violated.
• Alternative stores are ready to handle controversial indie fare, but they won’t match Steam’s discovery engine.
• For players: you’ll be able to buy Horses on Dec. 4 for $5, but the Steam ban raises questions about consistent moderation.

Breaking down the ban – what’s likely and what’s guesswork

Valve has a history of removing games for things like sexual violence, sexualizing minors, or content that simulates real-world mass violence. But Valve also has allowed graphic and controversial games in the past, which is why their refusal to explain in Horses’ case feels opaque. Santa Ragione says the game is non-pornographic; the studio points to artistic horror and surreal body imagery rather than titillation. Those are important distinctions — but Valve doesn’t just judge on art vs. porn labels. Context, intent, and how content is presented in marketing and gameplay can make a difference.

We could speculate: maybe the nudity plus fetish-adjacent aesthetics tripped an automated filter, or maybe a human reviewer decided the visuals risked violating Steam’s vague thresholds. Or perhaps public chatter alerted Valve before a full review. The problem is we don’t know, and that lack of transparency is exactly why indie devs get burned: you can design within the spirit of a policy and still be blocked.

Why Santa Ragione’s move to other stores matters

Santa Ragione accepting alternative stores — Epic, Humble, GOG, itch.io — is the pragmatic play. Itch.io and GOG have histories of hosting edgier indies and give developers more control over content. Epic and Humble bring broader audiences and better revenue potential than itch.io, though none of these rival Steam for sheer foot traffic. For $5, players who want the experience can still get it, but the friction of multiple storefronts means fewer impulse buys and less organic discovery.

There’s also a reputational angle. A Steam ban can become, paradoxically, a marketing cudgel for some games — “banned on Steam” gets headlines and curiosity clicks. But that’s a risky game for small studios that actually need sales more than controversy. At $5, Santa Ragione needs every storefront advantage to make development worth it.

The bigger picture: platform power and indie fragility

Horses puts a spotlight on a recurring tension: platforms wield enormous unilateral power over what reaches players. Valve’s hands-off rhetoric from a few years back promised broad freedom, but the practice has been selective. When decisions are opaque, developers must budget for unpredictability. That uncertainty pushes creators toward self-publishing, niche storefronts, or art-house venues — which is fine for some, but limiting for others who rely on Steam’s scale to survive.

What players should know (and what to watch for)

If you’re curious about Horses, mark Dec. 4 on your calendar: PC release across Epic Games Store, Humble Store, GOG and itch.io for $5. Go in expecting a short, atmospheric indie horror that leans on discomfort and surreal imagery — not a mainstream shock fest. If you care about platform transparency, this is another data point to demand clearer, public explanations when a title is rejected.

TL;DR

Santa Ragione’s Horses was banned from Steam in 2023 without explanation. It lands on other PC stores on Dec. 4 for $5. The real takeaway is less about one game’s content and more about platform opacity: Valve’s silence leaves both developers and players in the dark about where the line is drawn.