Highlights
- Banned from Steam and Epic, indie horror Horses sells 18,000 copies via alternative stores.
- Despite clearing debts, the studio lacks funds for new projects without Steam's long-tail reach.
- The developer highlights the financial precarity of surviving outside monopolistic platforms.
The indie horror title Horses has defied significant odds by selling over 18,000 copies in just two weeks and has generated approximately $65,000 in net revenue. This financial milestone was achieved despite the game being banned from the industry's largest PC storefronts, Steam and the Epic Games Store. However, the game’s developer, Santa Ragione, has shared a sobering reality behind the success. While the viral attention and subsequent sales helped the studio repay its debts, he said the funds are not sufficient to finance the production of a new project.
According to a press release from the Italian studio, the game’s financial performance was driven primarily by sales on GOG and Humble Bundle, though the latter briefly delisted the title before reinstating it.
The revenue generated allowed Santa Ragione to cover the $50,000 borrowed from friends to finish development, as well as settle royalties owed to the game’s creator, Andrea Lucco Borlera. The studio noted that they had invested a total of around $100,000 into the project.
Producer Pietro Righi Riva noted that while the game topped GOG charts for a week and matched the launch numbers of their previous titles on Steam, the financial victory is limited. The current earnings have saved the studio from immediate ruin, but without access to Steam’s massive audience and its "long tail" sales model, where games continue to sell steadily over the years, the studio cannot afford to begin production on a future prototype. Consequently, team members are now planning to take on other jobs to sustain themselves.
Distribution Challenges and Platform Bans
The distribution challenges for Horses were severe and controversial. Valve banned the game from Steam two years prior to launch, citing a violation regarding the depiction of sexual conduct involving a minor.
The developers disputed this, clarifying that the scene was non-sexual and had subsequently been altered to feature an adult character, but a resubmission was refused. The Epic Games Store also removed the title just before release, citing violations of its "Inappropriate Content" policies and noting the game had received an "Adults Only" (AO) rating, which the store does not support.
Despite the controversy, the game has found an audience willing to engage with its difficult subject matter. Horses is a narrative-driven horror title where farm workers are actually human beings wearing horse masks, using disturbing imagery to explore themes of complicity and social cruelty.
Santa Ragione emphasized that their situation highlights a need for clearer rules and transparency from monopolistic distribution platforms. Currently, the game remains available on GOG and Itch.io.
