In a significant legal move, Sony has filed a lawsuit against Tencent, accusing the gaming giant of creating a game that closely mirrors its acclaimed Horizon series. The lawsuit was lodged in a California federal court and alleges serious claims of copyright and trademark infringement. According to reports from Reuters, Sony contends that Tencent’s upcoming game, Light of Motiram, is so similar to Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West that it could mislead players into believing it is part of the same franchise.
The legal documents assert that after Tencent began development on Light of Motiram, the company approached Sony with a proposal to collaborate on a new entry in the Horizon series. Sony declined this offer, considering the matter settled. However, the lawsuit claims that Tencent proceeded to develop a game strikingly similar to Horizon, which features a young, red-headed female protagonist and tribal factions battling against large robotic creatures in a post-apocalyptic setting.
“Upon information and belief, sometime in 2023 (and unbeknownst to Sony), Tencent started developing a video game called Light of Motiram which – just like Horizon – features a young, red-headed female protagonist and tribal groups fighting for survival among large robotic animals in a post-apocalyptic world,” the lawsuit states. This strong resemblance to the Horizon series has raised concerns among fans and industry observers alike.
Furthermore, the lawsuit highlights Tencent's audacity in continuing with the game’s development despite Sony’s refusal to collaborate. It notes that Tencent executives approached Sony in March 2024 at a gaming conference in San Francisco, pitching the idea of developing a Horizon game together. Sony’s rejection of this proposal seems to have been disregarded, leading Tencent to unveil Light of Motiram without Sony's consent.
The suit claims that promotional materials for Light of Motiram bear a striking resemblance to those of the Horizon franchise. Sony asserts that the game’s Steam store page, trailer, promotional screenshots, and gameplay footage all “misappropriated protectable elements of SIE’s copyrights in the Horizon franchise to a significant degree.” This assertion is further supported by online users and various websites that have pointed out the uncanny similarities between the two games.
In its lawsuit, Sony describes Light of Motiram as “a slavish clone” of the Horizon series and seeks judicial recognition that Tencent has “willfully infringed” upon its registered copyrights and the trademark associated with the character Aloy. The lawsuit aims to prevent Tencent from releasing the game and demands monetary damages for the alleged infringement.
Light of Motiram is being developed by Polaris Quest, a subsidiary of Tencent. The game is positioned as an open-world adventure set in a post-apocalyptic landscape where human civilization has vanished. Players will encounter mechanical beings, referred to as "mechanimals," including large gorillas, deer, and bulls. Since its announcement last year, players have expressed their concerns regarding the game’s striking similarities to the Horizon franchise.
One Reddit user, Xeriam, commented, “That is shameless. Like, if they at least changed the colors, made the plating chrome instead of white, made the good lights green, bad lights purple, maybe they could slip it by without people’s eyebrows raising into the stratosphere, but c’mon.” This sentiment reflects the broader community's concern regarding originality and creativity in the gaming industry.
