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Indie Horror Game’s Steam Ban Sparks Debate Over Platform power and Artistic Freedom
Despite a controversial ban from Steam, the indie narrative horror game Horses has found unexpected success, though its developer remains wary of the platform’s influence on the future of autonomous game development.
Two years after being removed from Valve’s popular storefront, the game’s studio, Santa Ragione, faced potential closure. The studio’s cofounder and Horses producer, Pietro Righi Riva, was forced too deliver difficult news to the game’s director, Italian filmmaker Andrea Lucco Borlera. “I was terrified for him,” Riva said in a recent interview. “This was his first game and he put so much work,so much passion,so many years into it,and it was supposed to be his big breakthrough.”
While the increased attention following the ban has provided a lifeline, Riva remains cautious. “I’m relieved as with all this attention, I’m probably going to be able to give back most of the money [roughly half of $100,000] that I had to borrow,” he explained. “But we’re not out of the woods yet, no.”
Horses is a visually distinctive game, employing Dreamcast-era graphics and simple click-based gameplay. Though Santa Ragione had previously released Saturnalia and Milky Way prince, the studio was largely unknown before the controversy. Riva acknowledges the paradoxical nature of the situation, stating that the bans where “instrumental in Horses punching through the noise.”
“There is no way the same kind of interest would have happened,” he asserted. Borlera, despite the initial setback, is reportedly pleased with the game’s current reception. “He’s extremely happy with the reception that the game is getting,” Riva said. “People are reading into the game and engaging with it in a way that he hoped.”
However, this renewed engagement doesn’t fully compensate for the potential reach of Steam. Riva expressed gratitude for support from gamers and option storefronts like GOG, but emphasized that it’s insufficient. “Even with all the publicity, all the reporting, all the reviews, everything else,” he said, “this still does not compare to the kind of audience we would have on Steam.”
Steam’s Dominance and Indie Developer Concerns
Steam wields notable influence over the PC gaming market. Indie studios, often lacking the resources to port their games to consoles, are particularly vulnerable to Valve’s moderation policies, which are often described as vague, inconsistent, and arbitrary. While Horses has navigated a path to relative success without Steam, Riva described the experience as “traumatic,” impacting not only his team but also the wider indie development community.
“I think there is going to be, in my case, and in othre people’s case, a certain degree of self-censorship,” Riva predicted.”It’s terrifying, and it’s going to make people make safer and safer games, me included.” this chilling effect raises concerns about the future of arti
