{"rewrite":{"id":"r_a69a9d373988805f44f55abd","clusterId":"c_f16d9e333aeacb2b4ded59bc","slug":"horses-developer-reveals-30-000-sales-still-in-the-red","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"Horses Developer Reveals 30,000 Sales Still in the Red","summary":"Santa Ragione disclosed that despite selling 30,000 copies of HORSES, it has not recouped $42,000 of its $50,000 development cost. The game was banned from Steam and Epic Games Store before release. Revenue reached $100,000, but most went to the director and an investor, leaving only $8,000 for cost recovery.","whyItMatters":"The disclosure shows that even a 30,000-copy sales milestone does not guarantee profitability for a game excluded from major PC storefronts.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eSanta Ragione published a revenue breakdown for HORSES on June 16, six months after the game launched on GOG.com, itch.io, and Humble Store. The $100,000 in revenue was split three ways: director Andrea Lucco Borlera received $30,000 as compensation for years of work, an individual investor who put in $50,000 was paid $62,000 (principal plus $12,000 return), and the remaining $8,000 went to the studio to recover development costs. Since Santa Ragione self-funded $50,000, it still has $42,000 unrecovered. The game was rejected by Valve in November 2025 and later by Epic Games Store, which limited its distribution channels.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Santa Ragione says HORSES sold 30,000 copies but still hasn't recouped $42,000 of its $50,000 dev cost. The $100k revenue went mostly to the director and an investor; only $8k went to cost recovery.","twitterPost":"Santa Ragione says HORSES sold 30,000 copies but still hasn't recouped $42,000 of its $50,000 dev cost. The $100k revenue went mostly to the director and an investor; only $8k went to cost recovery.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"Santa Ragione disclosed that HORSES, banned from Steam and Epic Games Store, sold 30,000 copies but remains $42,000 short of breaking even. The $100,000 in revenue was distributed to the director and an investor, leaving only $8,000 for development cost recovery.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Automaton\",\"url\":\"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20260617-450082/\",\"title\":\"Banned on Steam Human Ranch Horror 'HORSES' Developer Reveals: 'Sold 30,000 Copies but Still Haven't Recouped Development Costs' Reports Deficit While Disclosing Revenue Use\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4158,"outputTokens":597,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1781665559,"createdAt":"2026-06-17T03:00:27.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-06-17T03:04:57.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-17T03:04:57.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_f16d9e333aeacb2b4ded59bc","canonicalTitle":"“Steamで発売禁止”人間牧場ホラー『HORSES』開発元、「3万本売れたけどまだ開発費回収できてない」と明かす。売上の使い道を明かしつつ赤字報告","representativeArticleId":"a_5f58d59fcaaad8d0392f875a","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"HORSES\"],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-06-17T02:22:28.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-06-17T02:22:28.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-17T03:04:57.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Automaton","url":"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20260617-450082/","title":"“Steamで発売禁止”人間牧場ホラー『HORSES』開発元、「3万本売れたけどまだ開発費回収できてない」と明かす。売上の使い道を明かしつつ赤字報告"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["HORSES"],"studios":[],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["HORSES sold 30,000 copies but has not recouped $42,000 of its $50,000 development cost.","The game was banned from Steam and Epic Games Store before release.","Revenue of $100,000 was split: director Andrea Lucco Borlera got $30,000, an investor got $62,000, and only $8,000 went to cost recovery.","Santa Ragione published the revenue breakdown on June 16, six months after the game launched on GOG.com, itch.io, and Humble Store.","Valve rejected HORSES in November 2025, and Epic Games Store also declined to carry it."]}