After facing criticism earlier this year for its payment processor update, video game storefront Steam is now getting backlash for banning the sale of the indie horror game Horses.

Now, the disturbing indie horror game about a human horse farm has been banned by the Epic Games Store and the Humble Store, making it one of the most banned games in recent memory and inspiring discourse about censorship and art.

But why exactly is Horses getting banned so much, and are the bans justified? Here's what we know about the controversy.

What Is 'Horses' And Why Is It Getting Banned?

Horses is a surreal horror game from Santa Ragione Game Studio and Italian filmmaker Andrea Lucco Borlera. The game puts players in the role of a worker on a farm comprised of enslaved humans who dress and act like horses. The game's heavily censored trailer shows the player carting off a lifeless human horse, feeding a human horse a carrot, riding on a human horse's shoulders and more.

On the day the trailer was released in late November 2025, it was reported that Steam had banned the game from its storefront. Shortly after, leading up to its December 2nd release date, the Epic Games Store banned the game, followed by the Humble Store.

While no specific reason has been given by any of the companies for the ban, it's being assumed online that the bans have something to do with the game's disturbing content. Most of the characters in the trailer appear with little or no clothes, and a lot of the imagery shown in the trailer is notably shocking.

Still, the specific element of the game that resulted in so many bans has not been made clear, raising some eyebrows.

How Is Social Media Reacting To 'Horses?'

Horses has inspired a wide range of reactions online for its content. Critically, the game is being received well, earning positive reviews from sites like IGN and EuroGamer, as well as players.

However, the widespread bans of the game have sparked discourse online about the censorship and banning of not just video games, but art in general.

Some people, including the game's developers, are criticizing Steam and other platforms for banning the game, citing hypocrisy over similarly controversial games with adult themes being allowed on the stores.

One representative of the game's studio even said about the ban, "Steam publicly downplays human curation in favor of algorithmic sales optimization, yet intervenes with censorship when a game’s artistic vision does not align with what the platform owners considers acceptable art."

Debates about the game's banned status have been raging across social media, while others simply want to know exactly what content is present in the game that got it banned.

What Are Some More 'Horses' Reactions?

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For the full history of Horses, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.