20 Most Controversial Games of the 2020s (So Far)

No video game in 2025 proved more controversial than Horses, a horror-themed walking simulator in which a young man lives on a farm populated with enslaved humans dressed as horses.

Shortly before the game's December release, developer Santa Ragione revealed that Steam and Epic had both refused to host it on their storefronts, leaving players to acquire it from smaller independent platforms like GOG.

Valve ultimately reasoned that they refused to host Horses because it featured "sexual conduct involving a minor," and while the game is certainly centered around sexual assault, there's absolutely no explicit sexual content involving children in the game.

Valve nevertheless upheld the ban, prompting many to criticise them and other storefronts for refusing to sell an artistically left-field, distinctly adult game about a serious, difficult subject.

With so much attention on Horses' apparently transgressive content, it was ultimately able to sell enough to pay off the studio's debts, though founder Pietro Righi Riva understandably lamented being denied access to a market as massive as Steam.