STEAM’S BAN HAMMER: How One Indie Game’s Censorship Nightmare Became a Dark Blessing

Get ready for a wild ride, folks! We're diving into the twisted tale of Horses, an indie narrative horror game that got BANNED from Steam two years ago. Yep, you read that right – BANNED. The studio behind it, Santa Ragione, was on the verge of closure, and the game's director, Andrea Lucco Borlera, was about to have his big breakthrough crushed.

But here's the kicker: the ban might have been the best thing that's happened to Horses. Studio cofounder Pietro Righi Riva had to make a difficult phone call to Borlera, and let's just say it was a real nail-biter. "I was terrified for him," Riva said in an interview with The Verge. "This was his first game, and he put so much work, so much passion, so many years into it."

The Banned Game’s Unexpected Boost

Fast forward to today, and Horses is getting more attention than ever. Riva's relieved, but not out of the woods yet. "I'm relieved because 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 said. "But we're not out of the woods yet, no."

So, what's the game about? Horses is a short, crunchy-looking game with Dreamcast-era graphics and simple gameplay. Not exactly a AAA title, but hey, it's got character. And despite being a relatively unknown developer, Santa Ragione has had success with Saturnalia and Milky Way Prince before the bans.

The Ban Effect: A Double-Edged Sword

Riva acknowledges that the bans have been instrumental in Horses getting noticed. "There is no way the same kind of interest would have happened," he said. And Borlera? He's "extremely happy with the reception that the game is getting." People are engaging with the game in ways he never thought possible. But, as Riva notes, this engagement isn't enough to make up for the audience Steam could have provided.

Steam's influence on the PC video game market is HUGE. Indie studios that can't afford to port their games to consoles are at the mercy of Valve's moderation whims. It's a scary thought, and Riva's not alone in feeling the pressure. "I think there is going to be, in my case, and in other people's case, a certain degree of self-censorship," he said.

Technical Breakdown: How Steam’s Ban Works

So, how does Steam's ban hammer work? It's pretty simple: Valve reviews games based on their content, and if they don't meet the platform's guidelines, they get banned. But here's the thing: these guidelines are often vague and inconsistently applied. It's a guessing game, and indie devs are the ones who suffer.

For example, Horses was banned for reasons that aren't entirely clear. Was it the game's content? Its graphics? We may never know. But what we do know is that the ban had a profound impact on the game's success.

What You Can Do to Help (and Laugh)

So, what can you do to help indie devs like Santa Ragione? Here are a few things:
* Support indie games on platforms like GOG and Itch.io
* Spread the word about games that deserve attention
* Don't be afraid to speak out against censorship
* And, of course, enable 2FA on your Steam account (you never know when you'll need it)

Final Verdict

In the end, Horses's story is a wild ride full of twists and turns. It's a cautionary tale about the power of censorship and the importance of supporting indie devs. So, go ahead and share this post, comment below, and let's get the conversation started. And to Valve, we say: GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER, STEAM! The future of gaming depends on it.