Santa Ragione’s Horses Faces Last Minute Ban on Epic Games Store Following Earlier Steam Removal
Santa Ragione’s narrative horror title Horses has now been banned from the Epic Games Store, adding a new chapter to an already contentious situation that began with the game’s removal from Steam. The move raises serious questions about content moderation consistency across major PC storefronts, especially as Horses was set to launch simultaneously on several platforms including GOG, Humble Store and Itch.io.
While Steam has faced growing criticism in recent years over vague or inconsistent moderation decisions, Epic Games Store appears to have gone even further in the handling of Horses. When Steam banned the game, the decision was based on an early unfinished build, and Valve did not provide direct reasoning, leaving Santa Ragione unable to address specific concerns. Epic Games Store, by contrast, removed the game approximately twenty four hours before launch despite previously approving it.
According to documentation shared by Santa Ragione on its official site through the Horses Ban Information Page, Epic Games informed the studio that Horses could not be distributed on the platform due to violations of the Epic Games Store Content Guidelines. The company cited inappropriate content and hateful or abusive content, including claims referencing sexual behavior and animal abuse. Epic also stated that its internal rating process resulted in an Adults Only rating from the International Age Rating Coalition, a classification that Epic does not allow on its storefront except in limited blockchain related cases.
Yesterday, the Epic Games Store decided at the last minute not to distribute the game, after having previously approved a release build. HORSES is otherwise now available on GOG, Itch, and Humble for $4.99. www.horses.wtf
— Santa Ragione (@santaragione.com) December 3, 2025 at 1:10 AM
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Santa Ragione disputes these findings entirely. In its statement, the studio emphasizes that Horses contains no explicit sexual content, with all nudity fully censored through pixelation and no visible sexual acts depicted on screen. The studio notes that in the three hours of total gameplay, only four brief scenes involve censored sexual content, and most are presented off camera. Santa Ragione also stresses that the game does not depict or promote abuse, including animal abuse, and in fact serves as a critique of violence and exploitation.
The studio further notes that its initial International Age Rating Coalition submission did not receive an Adults Only classification. Instead, the game was rated PEGI eighteen in Europe and M for Mature in North America, ratings that are commonly accepted across all major digital storefronts including Epic Games Store.
What has made the situation more frustrating for Santa Ragione is that Horses had already passed multiple rounds of review within Epic’s approval pipeline. The studio reports that the final achievement build was approved more than two weeks before launch. Once Epic delivered the removal notice, the developer submitted an immediate appeal that resulted in an automated rejection without clarification. Epic did not identify any specific scene or element that violated its policies, leaving the studio unable to address or modify anything even if it wished to do so to meet compliance requirements.
This situation has significant financial implications for Santa Ragione. As an independent studio with a history of producing boundary pushing narrative games, losing access to two of the largest digital storefronts severely limits revenue potential for Horses. The risk, according to the developer, is that the studio may not be able to recoup its development costs and could potentially face closure.
The controversy becomes even more troubling when placed alongside recent examples of inconsistent enforcement on major platforms. Earlier this year, Steam allowed a title that explicitly promoted sexual abuse to appear on the store. Valve did not remove the game until after public outcry, and even then only restricted it in certain regions. The developer eventually took it down worldwide. In comparison, Horses is a commentary on abuse, not a depiction of abuse for entertainment, yet it is being rejected entirely by both Steam and Epic.
The situation raises broader concerns about the future of mature storytelling in games and whether platform holders are prepared to differentiate between harmful content and socially relevant critique.
Do you believe major storefronts are applying their content guidelines fairly, or is the removal of Horses an indication of inconsistent and overly restrictive moderation
