UPDATE 6.46pm: In a press release to Eurogamer, Epic Video games’ senior communications supervisor, Brian Sharon, wrote:
“Our crew performed the sport and located it violated the Epic Video games Retailer’s Content material Pointers, particularly the ‘Inappropriate Content material’ and ‘Hateful or Abusive Content material’ insurance policies. We did a secondary verify by filling out the rankings questionnaire for the sport ourselves and the content material bought an Adults Solely (AO) ranking – which we don’t enable on the Retailer. As a result of this wasn’t an official submission, we don’t have a certificates to share with the crew. We did give the builders context across the insurance policies they violated. Once they appealed, we reviewed the content material once more, and allow them to know the choice was appropriately utilized and can stay in place.”
Unique story follows.
Unique story: Horses developer Santa Ragione has responded to feedback from an Epic Video games Retailer govt claiming he “made provably incorrect statements in regards to the recreation’s content material”.
Posting the assertion on-line over the weekend, Santa Ragione refuted claims that Epic Video games Retailer “love” the studio, alleging the storefront had “ghosted” it when it withdrew help for its controversial horror recreation on the finish of final 12 months.
Santa Ragione’s Horses was, in fact, the topic of a number of headlines forward of its launch as Steam refused to distribute the sport. Then, simply earlier than its launch, it was additionally banned from the Epic storefront. This all put the studio into jeopardy, with founder Pietro Righi Riva telling Eurogamer it might face closure if Horses did not promote properly.
HORSES Accolades Trailer.Watch on YouTube
Santa Ragione claimed that it had acquired notification from Epic 24 hours earlier than Horses’ launch, explaining it could now not distribute the sport after its “evaluation discovered violations of the Epic Video games Retailer Content material Pointers”. Epic’s electronic mail particularly referenced its insurance policies round “inappropriate content material” and “hateful or abusive content material”, saying Horses contravenes tips prohibiting content material that “promotes abuse and animal abuse”, and “comprises specific or frequent depictions of sexual behaviour or [that is] not appropriately labeled, rated, or age-gated”.
On this latter level, Epic mentioned it had crammed out an IARC Questionnaire based mostly on the content material it reviewed, receiving an Grownup Solely (AO) ranking – a ranking class it doesn’t distribute on its storefront.
Earlier this week, nevertheless, Epic VP Steve Allison informed Sport File in an interview, “We love [Santa Ragione] [… but the studio’s] solutions have been simply totally different than… a few of the moderators’ have been after they performed by the sport”.
“Our time on this matter was restricted, nevertheless it appears information of the Steam ban triggered an Epic evaluation of the ranking, which is normally produced by way of a self-reported submission to a rankings coalition,” Sport File’s Stephen Totilo later clarified on social media.
Epic made provably incorrect statements in regards to the recreation’s content material, refused to offer particulars supporting their claims, and has not shared their claimed AO IARC certificates, which usually features a hyperlink for the developer to attraction. They don’t ‘love that studio’, they’ve successfully ghosted us[image or embed]— Santa Ragione (@santaragione.com) February 7, 2026 at 11:44 AM
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“Epic made provably incorrect statements in regards to the recreation’s content material, refused to offer particulars supporting their claims, and has not shared their claimed AO IARC certificates, which usually features a hyperlink for the developer to attraction,” the studio mentioned in response. “They don’t ‘love that studio’, they’ve successfully ghosted us.
“The truth that the sport doesn’t deserve an AO ranking is clear from the extensively obtainable full walkthroughs on YouTube and Twitch, in addition to from its distribution on the Humble Retailer,” the studio added.
Regardless of the problems distributing Horses, Santa Ragione has generated sufficient to repay the loans it took out as a way to end growing the sport, in addition to the royalties owed to Horses creator Andrea Lucco Borlera.
