Highlights
- GOG is hosting the indie horror game Horses after Steam banned it.
- The developer says it is at "high risk of closing" without Steam sales.
- GOG opened pre-orders to support the studio and player freedom.
Digital storefront GOG has officially stepped in to support Horses, an indie horror game that was recently blocked from Steam by Valve. While the industry giant refused to sell the title due to content concerns, the CD Projekt-owned platform announced on Friday that it is "proud" to give the game a home. To help the developers during this critical time, GOG has opened pre-orders for the $5 title ahead of its December 2 release, explicitly countering Valve’s decision and affirming that players should have the freedom to choose the experiences that speak to them.
The controversy stems from Valve’s absolute refusal to distribute Horses after reviewing an early build in 2023. According to Santa Ragione, the Italian studio behind the project, the ban was triggered by a specific scene depicting a child riding on the shoulders of a naked woman wearing a horse mask.
Valve informed the developers that they would not ship content that appears to depict "sexual conduct involving a minor". Although the studio asserts the scene was non-sexual and intended as surreal horror, Valve stood by its guidelines, stating the ban was consistent with their onboarding rules and was not a decision made "out of nowhere".
In an attempt to address these concerns, Santa Ragione modified the game, replacing the child character with a twenty-something woman. The developers noted that this change actually improved the dialogue regarding the game's societal structures.
However, Valve reportedly declined to re-review the title even after the edit. In a statement to outlets, Valve explained that after internal discussions and feedback, they communicated a "final decision" to the studio that the game would not be shipped on Steam.
Steam Ban Puts Studio At Risk Of Closing
This exclusion from the world's largest PC marketplace has placed severe financial pressure on Santa Ragione. The studio revealed they invested approximately $100,000 into the project's two-year development and are now at "high risk of closing" without Steam's audience.
Recognising this precarious situation, GOG urged fans to grab a copy to "celebrate their creativity" and support the studio. Horses is described as a surreal narrative experience where humans act as livestock; beyond GOG, it will be available on the Epic Games Store, Itch.io, and the Humble Store.
