Indie Horror Game Horses Gets a Release Date, But Valve Blocks It From Steam
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Santa Ragione's upcoming horror game Horses is launching on December 2nd across multiple PC storefronts, but Valve has blocked its release on Steam, leaving the indie studio facing severe financial hurdles.
Santa Ragione, the acclaimed studio behind Saturnalia, finally has a release date for its chilling first person narrative horror game, Horses. Developed in collaboration with director Andrea Lucco Borlera, the three hour adventure drops players onto a rural farm for two weeks of increasingly surreal tasks. Blending live action intermissions, monochrome visuals, and silent cinema title cards, the game explores heavy themes like familial trauma, totalitarian power, and personal responsibility. When it was previewed last year, critics called it deeply unsettling, creating substantial anticipation within the indie horror community.
There is a massive catch for PC players hoping to experience it, as reported by Eurogamer. While the game launches on December 2nd across the Epic Games Store, GOG, the Humble Store, and Itch.io, it is completely absent from Steam. According to Santa Ragione co-founder Pietro Righi Riva, the studio has been quietly fighting Valve behind the scenes for a long time. Because Steam commands such a massive share of the PC market, getting locked out of the storefront cuts off roughly 75 percent of potential players and leaves the studio in a precarious financial position that threatens its future.
This situation highlights the ongoing friction independent developers face with major digital storefront gatekeepers. While platforms like GOG and Epic are stepping up to stock the game for $4.99, the visibility and player base of Steam remain vital for indie survival. For a community that relies on diverse, daring storytelling to keep the medium fresh, seeing an acclaimed team struggle simply to get their work on the biggest PC launcher is a sobering reminder of how much control centralized platforms hold over digital distribution.
Tags: Gaming News, PC Gaming, Indie Games, Steam, Horror
Original article: Eurogamer