According to Eurogamer.net, Valve made the decision to ban developer Santa Ragione’s narrative horror game Horses from Steam back in 2023, claiming it wouldn’t distribute content appearing to depict sexual conduct involving a minor. The Italian studio behind award-winning games Saturnalia and Meditteranea Inferno announced Horses in 2023 as a three-hour horror adventure blending monochrome visuals, live-action intermissions, and interactive sequences. The game unfolds across 14 days on a farm where naked human “horses” are kept as livestock, exploring themes of familial trauma and totalitarian power dynamics. Now rival storefront GOG has announced it will be selling Horses when it launches next week, with pre-orders available immediately. GOG’s social media statement says they’re “proud to give Horses a home” and believe “players should be able to choose the experiences that speak to them.”
Valve’s content dilemma
Here’s the thing about Steam‘s content moderation – it’s always been a bit of a mess. Valve has this weird position where they’re simultaneously the world’s largest PC gaming platform and also want to be completely hands-off. But then they make these occasional, seemingly arbitrary decisions that leave developers scratching their heads. The fact that Valve requested an early build from 2023, saw a scene they didn’t like, and then refused to re-examine the final version? That’s just bad process. Especially when Santa Ragione says they already aged up the character in question from a child to a twenty-something woman during development. So basically, Valve might be banning a game based on content that doesn’t even exist in the final product.
GOG’s positioning play
Now GOG stepping in with their public statement is pretty clever positioning. They’re not just selling another game – they’re making a statement about artistic freedom and player choice. And let’s be real, this is exactly the kind of differentiation that could work for them against Steam’s dominance. While Valve is playing it safe (or inconsistently, depending on your view), GOG gets to position itself as the platform that trusts adults to make their own decisions. The game will also be available on Epic Games Store and Humble Store, plus directly from the developer on itch.io, but GOG is the one making the philosophical stand here.
Artistic expression in gaming
What’s really interesting here is how this touches on gaming’s ongoing identity crisis. Are games art or entertainment products? Because if they’re art, then controversial themes and challenging imagery should be part of the conversation. Horses sounds like it’s trying to do something genuinely different – exploring heavy themes through this bizarre premise of human livestock. The monochrome visuals, live-action segments, and interactive sequences suggest it’s more experimental art piece than traditional horror game. But when you’re dealing with platforms that need to maintain brand safety and avoid legal headaches, where do you draw the line?
Storefront competition heats up
This whole situation highlights how PC gaming’s storefront wars are evolving beyond just pricing and features. We’re seeing platforms develop distinct personalities and content philosophies. Steam has the market share but increasingly conservative moderation. Epic has the Fortnite money but questionable curation. And now GOG is positioning itself as the free speech alternative while still maintaining quality standards. It’s becoming less about who has the biggest library and more about what kind of ecosystem developers and players want to support. The fact that you can get Horses on GOG but not Steam next week makes that divide pretty clear.
