Santa Ragione's controversial horror game, Horses, has sold more than 18,000 copies despite being removed from Steam and the Epic Games Store.
Earlier this month, Italian developer Santa Ragione said in an interview with the publication GamesIndustry.biz that it could be facing closure after Valve said it would not be putting its upcoming horror game Horses on Steam..
The studio said the decision means it can't reach the largest PC audience and is therefore unlikely to be able to recoup the project's development costs. The problem only got worse a few days later when Epic Games Store also refused to support the provocative game.
Now, in a new update, the team says it has earned approximately $65,000 in net revenue “thanks to exceptional coverage of the bans, public support from GOG, and a very positive response from players.” But while that helps pay royalties and pay off loans, it's not enough to secure the studio's future.
“This money primarily covers liabilities incurred as a result of the lengthy completion of construction,” Santa Ragione said. “If sales remain stable, we may be able to fund a new prototype in the future, but the team has been and will continue to pursue other work and projects in the meantime. It won't be easy to reunite everyone, even if that's what we'd like.
“We also want to make clear why this success does not erase the consequences of what happened. The Steam ban and subsequent development delays forced us into a long battle for funding, with debt, opportunity costs, and team members taking on other work.
“This fragmentation is a long-term consequence, even if the outcome of the launch was meaningful and positive in many ways.”
Santa Ragione also took the opportunity to call for “clearer rules, transparent processes and meaningful accountability from near-monopoly distribution platforms and the systems they enable.”
“For every case like Horses that comes to light, there are many more games that are quietly banned, delisted, or placed on indeterminate control for unclear reasons, with developers too worried about retaliation or future approval to speak publicly,” it added.
