Developer of Controversial Indie Game Horses Accuses Epic of Misleading Gamers

Months have passed since Epic Games pulled *Horses* from its PC storefront, and the dispute between the developer and the company continues to escalate. Santa Ragione, the studio behind the game, claims it was left in the dark by Epic, while Epic insists it has been open about the situation. In a recent statement, Santa Ragione’s co-founder and studio director, Pietro Righi Riva, criticized Epic’s “vague and semi-automated statements,” arguing they offered little clarity on why *Horses* was removed.

This ongoing saga began with an interview where Epic’s VP, Steve Allison, explained that the trust and safety team decided to reassess *Horses* and concluded it violated several of their policies. He noted that the decision came late, emphasizing their respect for the studio, which had previously collaborated with them on another title.

For context, Epic’s content guidelines specify that games rated Adults Only (AO) cannot be sold on their platform, with exceptions for titles utilizing blockchain, NFT, or cryptocurrency technologies. *Horses* is also unavailable on Steam for similar reasons but can still be found on platforms like GoG and itch.io.

In a post on Bluesky, Santa Ragione countered Allison’s claims, stating, “Epic made provably incorrect statements about the game’s content, refused to provide details supporting their claims, and has not shared their claimed AO IARC certificate, which normally includes a link for the developer to appeal. They do not ‘love that studio’; they have effectively ghosted us.”

Following this, Epic issued a statement to various outlets, asserting that their team played the game and found it in violation of the Epic Games Store’s Content Guidelines, particularly regarding inappropriate and hateful content. Communications manager Brian Sharon explained that they conducted a secondary review using their own ratings questionnaire, which resulted in an AO rating. Since this wasn’t an official submission, they couldn’t provide a certificate but claimed they had given the developers context about the violations.

When asked for clarification on the “incorrect statements” mentioned in their Bluesky post, Riva explained that Epic had sent an automated notice just 24 hours before the game’s release, stating it couldn’t be distributed due to violations of their content guidelines. They cited policies against explicit depictions of sexual behavior and content promoting abuse.

Riva noted that they responded to Epic’s initial notice within “28 minutes,” arguing that all nudity in the game is pixelated and that the content does not promote abuse. However, after Epic’s second review, Riva stated that no further information was provided, and their attempts to reach out for clarification went unanswered.

He concluded, “I do not think that those two vague and semi-automated statements would qualify as ‘contacting us twice.’ Their initial message suggested there was a path to ‘make updates to our product to ensure compliance’ but never explained what that would entail or what specifically needed change in the first place.”

Since its launch, *Horses* has garnered a variety of reviews, with many critics agreeing that the content is far less scandalous than the bans from Epic and Valve would suggest. The situation is further complicated by the increasing pressure on PC gaming storefronts from payment processors and pro-censorship activists to crack down on NSFW content. Despite the ongoing controversy, neither Epic nor other storefronts have clearly articulated what exactly they found objectionable in *Horses*.