The Italian studio Santa Ragione has revealed that Horses, despite bans from Steam and Epic, has recouped costs. The studio is also chiming in again on the discussion around the bans from stores, and is critisising Steam's overall economy for indies.
In the first two weeks since launch, Santa Ragione’s from Italy has sold over 18,000 copies of Horses across all platforms, generating approximately 65,000 dollars (about 55,487 euros) in net revenue. This is despite the game being banned from sale on Steam and Epic. The extraordinary coverage of the bans helped sell the game, Santa Ragione says, as did the public support of CD Projekt Red’s storefront Good Old Games. “We want to thank everyone who took a chance on the game, the press and creators who covered the story, and the partners who stood by us throughout the release. We also sincerely thank everyone who joined the conversation and gave the game a fair hearing,” the studio commented.
This means that the game has recouped all loans taken out for its development, even after royalties to Horses' author and creator Andrea Lucco Borlera. It is, however, not enough money to start production of new game, although the studio says that if sales go on like this, a new prototype is fundable in the future.
Regarding the ban from storefronts and the overall controversy about storefronts censoring certain content and not giving reliable information to developers, Santa Ragione has posted the following statement with the announcement of Horses’ success:
“We also want to be clear about why this success does not erase the impact of what happened. The Steam ban, and the development delays that followed, forced us into a prolonged scramble for funding, with debt, opportunity cost, and team members taking other work. That fragmentation is a lasting consequence, even if the launch outcome has been meaningful and positive in important ways.
While the launch of Horses compares very favourably to our most recent launches on Steam, Steam’s economics rely heavily on multi-year long tail sales and, for our past projects, on Steam key distribution through bundles, which has also lately been restricted for low-selling titles. These structural differences are why a strong two week result on smaller storefronts does not tell us what a full Steam release could have looked like.
We also want to emphasize that this outcome should not distract from the broader issue at stake: the need for clearer rules, transparent processes, and meaningful accountability from near monopolistic distribution platforms and the systems they enforce. For every case like Horses that becomes visible, there are many more games that are quietly banned, delisted, or trapped in indefinite review for unclear reasons, with developers too worried about retaliation or future approval to speak publicly. We are grateful to the journalists and outlets who have reported, and who will continue to report, on these cases.”
