When American singer Q Lazzarus released her cult hit 'Goodbye Horses' in 1988 I doubt she expected it would become irrevocably embedded in the consciousness of a British game journalist in the year 2025 because of the furore surrounding a banned indie horror game. Yet, here we are.

It's a sultry little morsel, by the way. You should slap it on.

Horses, a surreal experience about tending a farm with decidedly human livestock, has been banned from both Steam and the Epic Games Store for breaching platform guidelines. There has been a lot of speculation as to what specific content resulted in the ban—but despite standing firm in their respective decisions, both Valve and Epic have failed to clearly outline precisely what, exactly, they considered to be so egregious.

And that is the real horror of the entire affair. Two titanic storefronts that control access to a huge portion of the PC market have blacklisted a title seemingly without rhyme or reason. It has left developer Santa Ragione in the lurch, unable to tweak their product because it has no idea what, exactly, needs tweaking.

Related:Xbox hardware now costs a lot more in the UK and Europe

The comments provided to press by both companies failed to clarify the situation, and that should raise alarm bells.

Valve and Epic aren't obligated to sell any product on their platform, but when two companies (and let's be real, we're mainly talking about Valve here) absolutely dominate a market in such a way, the least developers and consumers should expect is transparency when key decisions are made.

Remember folks, some art is meant to be a little uncomfortable. That does not make it Bad.

Anyway, that's my brief rant on THAT situation. For more fleshed out thoughts, I implore you to read Chris Person's thoughts on the matter over at Aftermath.

Believe it or not, there were quite a few other headlines this week. So, let's say goodbye Horses (for now) and press on.

Netflix sells game studio Spry Fox back to its founders

via Game File // Netflix continues to reshape (read: downsize) its video game division after deciding it needs to employ a "less is more" strategy built on core verticals such as immersive narrative titles based on internal IP, mainstream titles like Grand Theft Auto, and social party games. That means the streamer has bid farewell to Spry Fox, which has been sold back to its founding team just a few years after Netflix purchased the studio. Thankfully, the studio's upcoming multiplayer life-sim, Spirit Crossing, will remain in development and will still be published by Netflix.

Related:PlayStation 5 sales have topped 95 million units worldwide

Arc Games becomes independent publisher after splitting from Embracer

via Game Developer // Last week, Embracer confirmed it would be divesting Neverwinter and Star Trek Online publisher Arc Games around four years after acquiring the company. This week, the newly-liberated company announced it has officially turned independent and will now operate as a "fully autonomous organization" following a successful management buyout. Arc will continue to be steered by its existing management team and already has a slate of projects simmering away on the back burner.

Embracer Group has made even more Eidos-Montreal workers redundant

via Insider Gaming // Embracer keeps suggesting it has turned over a new leaf after splitting into three standalone companies, but old habits evidently die hard because the Swedish conglomerate remains alarmingly committed to laying off employees. This isn't the first time workers at Eidos-Montreal have been pushed out of the door by their benevolent parent company in 2025, and some Insider Gaming sources claim additional cuts are being planned. With an employer like that, who needs enemies?

Saudi Arabia is about to own the vast majority of Electronic Arts

via The Wall Street Journal // It's no secret that Saudi Arabia is preparing to acquire EA with the help of a rather unsavory investor consortium, but it has so far been unclear how ownership of the U.S. publisher will be divided among the triumvirate. Well, now we know. According to a regulatory filing submitted in Brazil, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, PIF, will take a whopping 93.4 percent stake in EA if the take-private is approved. Culture washers, rejoice.

Related:EA clears US regulatory approvals in take-private deal

Russia blocks access to US children's gaming platform Roblox

via Reuters // Roblox is in hot water yet again, but this time the popular platform has been admonished for all of the wrong reasons. Regulators in Russia have blocked Roblox—which is currently enjoyed by over 151 million users each day—for hosting what they claim is extremist propaganda in the form of LGBTQ+ content. It's farcical and deeply concerning, but given the Russian supreme court branded the "international LGBT movement" an "extremist organization" in 2023, entirely predictable.

Horses banned from Epic Games Store just 24 hours before launch

via Game Developer // Most indies would be thrilled to see their project plastered across the homepages of major publications in the build up to launch—unless, perhaps, that coverage is all about how your make-or-break title has been banned from two major PC storefronts. That's precisely what happened to Horses developer Santa Ragione, with the title this week being barred from the Epic Games Store just 24 hours before launch—and having already been blocked by Steam in 2023. As you might imagine, the team at Santa Ragione had some thoughts on the matter.

Coffee Stain and Paradox veterans unveil new studio Feeble Minds

via Game Developer // Coffee Stain Studios co-founders Oscar Jilsén and Mikael Mård have reunited establish a new studio called Feeble Minds. The 10-person team also includes Paradox veterans. Feeble Minds is currently is working on a four-player soulslike dubbed Serpent's Gaze, and have already slapped a demo for their debut project on Steam.

Unity 6.3 LTS is now available

via Unity // A new long-term support release for Unity 6 has been deployed that will provide two years of dedicated support and new features such as a unified API for critical game features and improved cross-platform stability. Unity 6.3 LTS is recommended for live service titles and developers who are preparing to lock in production on a specific version of the game engine. Unity also reckons it'll be a solid option for new and mid-cycle productions, so it seems like it covers plenty of bases.