Horses was controversial even before it launched. While the exact circumstances are unclear, Steam banned the horror game from its store years before launch, seemingly due to content that was removed from the final build. It would not re-review the game, which meant the ban stayed in place.
Then, on the eve of release, Epic Games Store followed suit, and the game couldn’t be purchased there either. This meant that it was only available on GOG, Itch, and Humble – the latter having temporarily removed the game as well. Now, we have an idea of how this has impacted sales, and it’s a mixed bag.
Horses Sold Well Enough To Make Back The Costs Of Development, But It Might Be The Studio’s Last Game For A While
As reported by Eurogamer, Horses developer Santa Ragione says that its controversial horror game has sold 18,000 copies. This translates to $65,000 in revenue, which the studio says is enough to pay off the debts incurred during Horses’ development.
However, that does not mean that the studio is in a place to work on another game. “If sales remain steady, we may be able to fund a new prototype in the future, but the team has had to, and will continue to, take other jobs and projects in the meantime,” the studio says. “Reuniting everyone will not be easy, even if it is something we would love.”
It will be difficult to maintain steady sales when Horses will be unable to benefit from being on what is by far the largest disturbutor in the PC gaming ecosystem. That eliminates a lot of opportunities for players to stumble across it in the wild long after launch, although GOG could provide that for some.
Whatever the case, Horses has shown just how much power Steam holds over PC gaming, since the developer was worried about closing its doors when that ban was kept in place. It also serves as another example of Steam being overly cautious when it comes to what games it will host now, as it seemed reluctant to even reassess the game after the offending material was removed.
- Released
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December 2, 2025
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Crude Humor, Language, Nudity, Sexual Content, VIolence
- Developer(s)
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Andrea Lucco Borlera
- Publisher(s)
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Santa Ragione
