Update: And just like that, Horses is back on the Humble Store. It turns out the whole thing was a mix of cold feet and bad communications.
"In short, their team saw the press coverage and temporarily delisted Horses to reevaluate it," Horses developer Pietro Righi Riva told PC Gamer. "After a full review they determined that while the content is heavy, nothing in the game warrants removal from their store."
Riva said he's grateful to Humble for putting Horses back up for sale, "although I wish they had informed us that this process was ongoing," he added. He also expressed hope that Steam and Epic will ultimately reconsider their positions on the game as well, although that appears unlikely: The Epic Store listing that previously indicated Horses was "coming soon" has now been removed completely.
It all seems very odd to me. Surely Humble reviewed Horses before approving it for sale on its storefront in the first place, and surely it would have done so (again) when it committed to selling the game after Steam and Epic had both refused to carry it. Even if the Humble team only gave Horses a quick once-over for its initial approval, the subsequent controversy was in full swing when Humble agreed to offer a DRM-free version of the game for sale. It makes no sense that post-launch press coverage (Horses was briefly available for purchase on the Humble Store before being taken down) would have any bearing on it.
Then again, it also seemed strange that Epic filled out an IARC questionnaire for Horses after having approved the game for sale, a process that included Horses publisher Santa Ragione filling out its own IARC questionnaire several weeks prior. To me it looks very much like everyone got very nervous when Valve decided Horses wasn't suitable for its own storefront, and then utterly botched their reactions.
Anyway, it's about as happy an ending as Horses can expect at this point: A top-seller on GOG and Itch.io, and now it's back on the Humble Store too.
Original story: The saga of Horses has taken another unexpected twist as the Humble Store, which just a couple days ago affirmed that it would carry the game as a DRM-free download despite its ban on Steam and Epic, has now apparently stopped selling it.
Publisher Santa Ragione said in November that Valve declined to carry Horses because it contained "content that appears, in our judgment, to depict sexual conduct involving a minor." Santa Ragione disputed that characterization, but an appeal was rejected and the ban stands.
The Epic Games Store followed with its own ban on December 1, one day before Horses was set to launch. Which brings us, indirectly, to the Humble Store: In an email sent to PC Gamer following the Epic ban, Santa Ragione said the Humble Store had confirmed that it would continue to carry the game. Humble was initially going to sell Epic store keys for Horses, but with Epic not selling it, Humble was instead offering a DRM-free release for direct download.
Today, however, it's gone: The store page, previously at humblebundle.com/store/horses, has been completely removed from the Humble Store, without warning or explanation. A Santa Ragione rep confirmed with PC Gamer that Humble did have the DRM-free version of Horses up for sale yesterday when the game launched, but said they have no idea why it's gone now. The publisher has reached out to Humble to inquire, but as of now has not received any response.
That leaves Horses available for sale on GOG and Itch.io: Perfectly fine storefronts, but a significant reduction in the game's overall visibility. Making the matter even more frustrating is the fact that Horses is apparently quite good—or at least, it accomplishes what it sets out to do. The content is decidedly uncomfortable but reviews and reactions on social media are largely positive: By all outward appearances (and I haven't played it myself so I can't judge beyond that, but I'm talking about reactions from reputable gaming sites here), Horses is not low-effort, throwaway trash, but rather a game that genuinely seeks to provoke consideration and conversations.
The one upside for Santa Ragione is that the widespread bans may be drawing more attention to Horses than it would have had with a regular, uninterrupted launch, because where it remains available, it's doing quite well: It's currently the top-selling new release on GOG. Frankly, I hope the good old storefront makes a tidy bundle on it.
It's also currently sitting atop the best-selling games chart on Itch.io. (Note that you'll need to have adult content enabled on your Itch.io account in order to see it in the list.)
So that's a little bit of good amidst the bad, at least. I've reached out to the Humble Store for comment and will update if I receive a reply.
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