Sony has filed a lawsuit against Tencent, alleging that the publisher’s upcoming game, Light of Motiram, is “a slavish clone of SIE’s…Horizon series of video games.” The complaint, which was filed in the state of California, alleges that Tencent’s upcoming adventure title bears too many striking similarities to PlayStation titles Horizon: Zero Dawn and Horizon: Forbidden West from developer Guerrilla Games. The complaint outlines several similarities, including the fact that both games feature nearly identical key art of a woman overlooking robotic creatures in a valley, with the woman featured on the leftmost side of the art. Art elements, Landscapes, fonts, and symbols have all been noted as bearing striking similarities to the SIE published game.
Light of Motiram was noted as being very similar to the Horizon series since the game was first announced in 2024. Both franchises are set in post-apocalyptic worlds where humans have taken on a more primitive social structure while still being modern and recognizable. These humans are then forced to contend with a large world that has reverted to a point before humans, amid the ruins of a society that came before, fighting robotic animals and Dinosaurs that roam the land. For context, Horizon: Zero Dawn was announced during E3 2015, nearly a decade Tencents game. The complaint also notes several publications, such as Kotaku and TheGamer, as well as a multitude of Steam and Reddit comments, noting the likelihood of Sony suing over the assets, given just how similar they are.
The complaint reads:
The commonalities with Horizon disclosed in the Light of Motiram promotional game trailer and other promotional materials included not only identical story and gameplay themes, cultural, and character elements, but also art style, landscapes, architectural and art elements, color palettes, fonts, and symbols. Lighting and points of view are also highly similar.
Sony also alleges that Tencent knew what they were doing here. According to the publisher, Light of Motiram began development in 2023, with Tencent representatives approaching Sony at the 2024 Game Developers Conference to inquire about a licensing deal to develop their own Horizon title. Sony turned down this deal, but Tencent continued development of the game, simply changing the name. Sony then claims they approached Tencent after they became aware of the game to informally resolve the situation. At this point, they claim Tencent yet again tried to license the series, Sony refused again, and Tencent moved forward with promotion and playtesting for the game.
The Sony lawsuit is aimed at copyright and trademark infringement, as well as the false designation of its origin. They are asking the court to permanently enjoin Tencent from infringing on their copyright, reimburse costs and damages of up to $150,000 for each separate case of infringement from the Horizon series, and that Tencent deliver all infringing material to Sony for destruction. While Light of Motiram has a Steam listing, there are currently no plans for release.
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