MILAN / LONDON (IT BOLTWISE) – Italian indie studio Santa Ragione is facing bankruptcy after its horror game ‘Horses’ was banned from Steam. Without access to this important distribution channel, the studio is faced with existential challenges.
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Italian indie studio Santa Ragione is facing an existential crisis after its latest horror game ‘Horses’ was banned from popular gaming platform Steam. Valve, the operator of Steam, rejected the game due to concerns about its content, denying Santa Ragione access to much of the PC gaming market. This could mean the end of the studio, as without Steam’s revenue it will hardly be able to cover its development costs.
Valve explained that some elements on the ‘Horses’ store page raised concerns and that after reviewing the build, they decided not to release the game on Steam. Santa Ragione had hoped to make publication possible by making changes to problematic scenes, but Valve stuck to its decision. This decision came despite the studio’s willingness to make adjustments to comply with Steam’s guidelines.
The developers of Santa Ragione are disappointed and frustrated by the lack of transparency and clear guidelines from Valve. They argue that Steam’s opaque decision-making amounts to a monopoly that threatens the existence of small studios. Without the ability to publish on Steam, the studio sees little chance of covering the development costs of around $100,000, half of which were financed by private donations.
Santa Ragione plans to release ‘Horses’ on December 2, 2025 on alternative platforms such as the Epic Games Store, GOG, Itch.io and the Humble Store. But without Steam’s reach, the studio’s future remains uncertain. The developers hope that the game will be a success despite the challenges and that the discussion about the role of platforms like Steam in the gaming industry will continue.
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