The independent Italian studio Santa Ragione has faced a severe blow with the ban of its video game Horses on the Steam platform, which could mark the end of the developer. Valuing its investment in the project at approximately $100,000, Santa Ragione is now looking to recover costs following Valve’s decision, which significantly limits its access to the PC gaming market, where Steam accounts for more than 75% of sales.
Steam is not clear about what is happening with the game
The reason behind the ban is due to Valve’s interpretation of the game’s content, which, according to the company, could reflect sexual behaviors involving minors, although the studio has categorically denied these allegations. “We believe this explanation is deliberately vague and unfounded,” said Pietro Righi Riva, co-founder of Santa Ragione. The company presents Horses as a work that uses challenging material and does not seek to generate pornographic or erotic content.
Despite the fact that other platforms like Epic Games Store, GOG, and Humble Store have not encountered issues with the game’s launch, Santa Ragione feels that Valve’s opaque decisions create an environment that encourages self-censorship among independent developers. Riva has expressed frustration over the lack of clarity in Steam’s distribution policies, which complicates the possibility of making the necessary adjustments for the game to be accepted.
The study has made multiple efforts to obtain a review of Valve’s decision, but has been ignored. Without access to the vast audience of Steam, Santa Ragione is facing what could be a financial disaster and has pointed out that unless it manages to recover its costs, it will not be able to continue developing new projects.
