Indie Horror Game Horses Finds Unexpected Success After Steam Bans, but Developer Fears Lasting Impact
Rome, Italy – The unsettling indie horror game Horses, developed by Santa Ragione, has unexpectedly surgedโ in popularityโค following its removal from Steam, but the studioโข remains deeply concerned about its long-term viability adn the chilling โฃeffect the bans mayโค have on โฃfuture creative projects. Despite finding aโ dedicated audience through alternative storefronts and widespread media coverage, the developer believes the potential โreach of Steam remainsโ irreplaceable.
Prior to Horses, Santa Ragione was a relatively unknown entity, โฃhaving previously released โข Saturnalia and Milky Way Prince. โคThe studio’s founder, Davide Riva, acknowledges the bans-stemming from Steam’s often opaque content moderation policies-have ironically been instrumental in bringing Horses to a wider โaudience.โค “There is no way the same kind of interest would have happened,” Riva stated. Borlera, the game’s โฃcreator, is reportedly “extremely happy with the reception that the game is getting,” and pleased to see playersโ deeply engaging with its themes.
Though, this newfound attention doesn’t โฃoffset the loss ofโค Steam’s massive user base. While grateful for โsupport from โคgamers and platforms like GOG, โฃRiva emphasizes that it’s insufficient to secure santa Ragione’s future. “Even with all the publicity, all โขthe reporting, all the reviews, โฃeverything โelse,” he said, “This โstill does not compare to the kind of audience we would have on Steam.”
Steam’s dominanceโ in the PC gaming market leaves indie developers โฃnotably vulnerable to Valve’s frequently criticized moderation practices, which have beenโฃ described as vague, capricious, and inconsistent. The situation has led Riva to anticipate a wave of self-censorship within the indie โฃgame development community. โข”I think there is going to be, in my case, and in โฃother people’s case, a certain โdegree of self-censorship,” he said. โ”It’s terrifying, and it’s going to make โpeople make safer and safer games, me included.”
