Horses Was Successful Despite Steam And Epic Store Bans, But It May Not Be Enough

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Developer Santa Ragione says their unusual horror game, Horses, has sold 18,000 copies in just two weeks. While this has prevented the studio from closing down, it’s unclear if it’s enough money to fund the creation of a sequel.

The developers announced that their game, Horses, earned $65,000 in revenue. This allowed Santa Ragione to pay back its loans and the royalties owed to Andrea Lucco Borlera, who created the game. While this is good news, the team doesn’t have enough funds yet to start developing a new game.

The recent financial results aren’t sufficient to start developing a new game. The funds mainly cover costs from finishing the previous project. While continued sales could eventually allow us to begin a new prototype, the development team will need to continue working on other projects in the meantime. Bringing everyone back together won’t be simple, though it’s something we’re hoping for.

Santa Ragione and Horses have faced significant challenges. Last year, Steam banned their game without giving a reason. Shortly before release, Epic Games Store and Humble Bundle followed suit, also removing the game from their platforms.

Three major PC game stores have cancelled the release of ‘Horses’ following a recent trend of stricter rules for adult-themed games on platforms like Steam and Itch. While ‘Horses’ contains mature content, the game’s creators are frustrated, stating they weren’t given the opportunity to modify the game to meet platform requirements before it was pulled from consideration on Steam. They’re asking for more open communication and fairer processes within the industry.

Santa Ragione’s spokesperson stressed that while this particular situation is important, it shouldn’t overshadow the bigger problem: the lack of clear rules and transparency from dominant distribution platforms. They explained that for every game like ‘Horses’ that receives public attention, many more are silently removed or stuck in review for unknown reasons, as developers fear speaking out. They expressed gratitude to the journalists who are covering these issues and will continue to do so.

Horses is now available for $5 on GOG, and Itch.io.

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2025-12-18 06:09