On December 2, 2025, the indie horror title Horses was due to appear on several online stores, but in the days leading up to its launch many platforms declined to distribute it. Steam initially rejected the game earlier, and within 24 hours of its planned release the Epic Games Store and, later, the Humble Store also reversed course. The removals have prompted heated debate online, with critics calling the moves censorship while supporters of the decisions cite policy and rating concerns. For developer commentary, see the interview with Pietro Righi Riva of Santa Ragione at IGN.

At the center of the controversy is Horses’ unsettling premise: the “horses” on a rural property are actually enslaved, unclothed humans who wear horse masks. The material that most alarmed reviewers and platform moderators involved scenes in which a young girl interacts with these masked figures. The combination of nudity, coercion and the child’s proximity to those figures appears to be what triggered policy flags at multiple storefronts.

Riva told IGN that an interactive sequence shows a player leading a naked adult wearing a horse mask while a young girl rides on that adult’s shoulders. Riva emphasized the scene was not meant to be sexualized, but acknowledged that the juxtaposition of nudity and the presence of a child likely raised red flags. After Steam’s initial 2023 rejection — which referenced content that “appears, in our judgment, to depict sexual conduct involving a minor” — the studio adjusted the scene by changing the character’s age to an adult and reworking the dialogue to place that conversation in the hands of an older character.

According to Santa Ragione, Steam never identified a single moment that caused the rejection, leaving the team uncertain which element was decisive. Despite the studio’s edits and repeated outreach, Steam’s position remained unchanged.

The Epic Games Store had previously approved Horses earlier in 2025, but Epic withdrew distribution approval roughly 24 hours before the game’s planned release. Epic informed the developer that the title violated the Epic Games Store Content Guidelines for both “Inappropriate Content” and “Hateful or Abusive Content.” Epic also reported that an IARC submission based on their review resulted in an Adult Only (AO) rating — a rating category Epic does not permit on its storefront (except in narrowly defined blockchain/NFT cases). Epic offered the developer options: revise and resubmit, appeal the decision, or accept a refund of the submission fee.

Epic said its review identified violations of its content guidelines — including concerns about explicit or frequent depictions of sexual behavior that are not properly labeled, and content that promotes abuse — and that the game received an IARC Adult Only rating during their evaluation.

Santa Ragione disputes some of Epic’s conclusions and suggests the sudden reversal may have been influenced by the press attention after Steam’s earlier refusal. The studio also reports that its own IARC questionnaire produced a Mature (M) rating rather than AO.

On December 3, 2025, reports indicated the Humble Store also removed Horses from sale; attempting to access the previous Humble listing now shows an error message stating “HORSES is no longer available for purchase.” PC Gamer confirmed Santa Ragione received notice of the title’s removal from Humble, and the developer has said it is still awaiting a response from Humble about the decision.

Despite those removals, Horses remains available on itch.io and GOG, where the controversy has driven increased attention and sales. Visitors should be advised that the game contains adult, disturbing material and may be objectionable; exercise caution before downloading or purchasing.