The developers at Red Candle Games explained that the offending artwork was an accidental placeholder that had been removed, but the damage was done. GOG’s sudden withdrawal left the game in a digital limbo for years.
Reflecting on the incident today, Gołębiewski told Eurogamer that the situation “remains difficult to reflect on.” He explained that the choice was driven by “very real business constraints” and a lack of clear options that would protect both GOG and its partners while allowing for a responsible release.
Gołębiewski admitted that the way the company communicated the delisting “understandably damaged the trust our users have in us.” He noted that maintaining a global digital platform requires balancing legal, commercial, and operational realities that rarely result in perfect outcomes.
The executive suggested that the different approach taken with Horses was possible because internal teams thoroughly vetted the game and determined it carried no legal liabilities. This shift in corporate attitude may also be tied to GOG’s return to independence, as the storefront was recently sold back to its original co-founder by CD Projekt.
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