adminThe Epic Games Horses ban has led to conflicting accounts between Epic Games and Italian developer Santa Ragione. Epic says the horror game breached its store content rules, while the studio says it was not given enough information to challenge the decision. Here is what each side has said and what is known about the game’s sales.
Image credit: Santa Ragione
Why Epic Games rejected Horses
Epic Games says its team played Horses and found that it violated the Epic Games Store’s policies on inappropriate content and hateful or abusive content. The company also says it completed a secondary review using the game’s ratings questionnaire. That assessment resulted in an Adults Only (AO) rating, which Epic does not permit on its store.
Epic explained that the rating was not an official submission by the developer. For that reason, the company says it did not have an AO certificate to provide to Santa Ragione. Epic maintains that it gave the studio context about the policies involved, reviewed the game again after an appeal, and upheld its decision.
Practical context: Epic’s explanation distinguishes between an internal ratings check and a formal submission. According to the company, the internal check did not produce a certificate that could be shared through the usual process.
Santa Ragione disputes Epic’s explanation
Santa Ragione has accused Epic of making claims about the game that were demonstrably wrong, withholding supporting details, and failing to share the alleged AO rating information. The studio also said it had been effectively ignored and argued that the game’s content did not warrant an Adults Only rating.
To support its position, the developer pointed to full playthroughs available on YouTube and Twitch, as well as the game’s availability through the Humble Store. These examples are part of Santa Ragione’s argument; they do not alter Epic’s stated assessment of its own store guidelines.
The disagreement followed the game’s removal from consideration on Steam and the Epic Games Store. Santa Ragione had previously said that the distribution decisions put its future at risk. Epic’s public response came after a senior company executive spoke positively about the studio’s work, which prompted Santa Ragione to challenge the contrast between those comments and its experience during the review process.
Horses sales and the studio’s outlook
By mid-December, Horses had sold more than 18,000 copies despite not being available on Steam or the Epic Games Store. Santa Ragione reported approximately $65,000 in net revenue, attributing sales in part to attention around the bans, public support from GOG, and a positive response from players.
The studio said that revenue covered royalties and repaid loans, but was not enough to secure the company’s long-term future. These figures describe the situation reported at that time, rather than a current sales total.
What the Epic Games Horses ban means
The Epic Games Horses ban reflects a dispute over both content-policy enforcement and how developers are informed about review decisions. Epic says it applied its rules and reconsidered the game after an appeal; Santa Ragione says the explanation and rating details were inadequate. Readers assessing the situation should keep the two accounts separate, since the public statements do not resolve their disagreement.
