An unsettling indie game about horses keeps getting banned from stores

"Horses, a first-person narrative horror game, was banned from the Epic Games Store just hours before it was set to launch on December 2nd. Then, a day after launch, the Humble store banned it as well. The decision shocked the developers at Santa Ragione, makers of the critically respected Saturnalia, as these storefronts were the homes they'd found for their game two years before it was preemptively banned from Steam."

"Valve and Epic say Horses violates their sexual content policies. Humble hasn't yet said why it banned the game after hosting it for several hours post-launch. However, Santa Ragione claims neither Epic nor Valve has clearly explained what exactly in the game is objectionable, and that these decisions have put the studio in peril of shutting down. The back-and-forth has catapulted Horses from a little-known prestige indie title to the next battleground in the fight between game storefronts, indie developers, content policies, and creative expression."

Horses, a first-person narrative horror game, faced bans from multiple major digital storefronts. The Epic Games Store removed it hours before its scheduled December 2nd launch, and Humble pulled it a day after launch. Valve previously preemptively removed the game from Steam. Epic and Valve cite violations of sexual content policies, while Humble has not provided a reason after briefly hosting the game. Santa Ragione states that neither Epic nor Valve has clearly identified the objectionable content and warns that these removals threaten the studio's viability. The dispute has elevated the title into a contentious case about storefront policies and creative expression.

Read at The Verge