Game Developer Santa Ragione Faces Closure After Valve Rejects Horror Game Horses from Steam

Italian game development studio Santa Ragione is on the verge of closure due to Valve's refusal to host its upcoming horror game Horses on the Steam platform. According to the studio, this decision severely limits its ability to reach a broad PC audience, making it unlikely to recover the development costs. The studio currently has funding to support Horses for six months after its launch, but after that, financial resources will be depleted. In an interview, Santa Ragione co-founder Pietro Righi Riva expressed concern that the earnings from Horses will be allocated to the game's author and investors, leaving no remaining balance to develop new projects unless the game performs exceptionally well. The horror game Horses, announced in June 2023, was denied distribution on Steam, with Valve citing that the game's themes and content, including a scene that could be perceived as depicting sexual conduct involving a minor, are not acceptable for distribution on the platform. Despite the rejection, Horses will be available on the Epic Games Store, GOG, Itch.io, and Humble. The studio has expressed gratitude to players who have supported experimental work and to other distribution platforms that have welcomed Horses, fostering a landscape that protects experimental and cultural projects. This incident follows Steam's earlier crackdown on adult content, which led to the removal of hundreds of games from the platform.