Sony Interactive Entertainment has started a legal battle against Tencent, one of the largest technological and video games conglomerates in the world. The lawsuit is due to the alleged plagiarism of his acclaimed series Horizon. In a lawsuit filed in a California court, Sony accuses Tencent of having created a title that is not only inspired by Horizon. He also copies it systematically and deliberately.
Similarities that go beyond inspiration
the game in question, Light of Motiram, even without an official release date, is described by Sony as a “service copy” of Horizon: Zero Dawn and Horizon: Forbidden West. The demand details a series of parallels between both games: from the setting and the mechanics, to elements of narrative, artistic design and marketing.
Both games are developed in a Postapocalyptic world populated by gigantic robotic dinosaurs, where humanity has returned to a tribal life to survive. The landscapes are wide and varied. There is presence of Tropical jungles, arid areas and snowy mountains, very similar to each other. mechanical enemies in Light of Motiram They don’t just share the concept. According to Sony, Directly replicate the visual shapes, functions and styles of those that appear in Horizon.
One of the most striking similarities indicated in the demand is the protagonist of Motiram, one Red-haired woman in tribal outfits and a technological device in the ear. This device is almost identical to the “Focus” of Aloy, the main character of Horizon. According to Sony, this detail cannot be considered a mere coincidence. Even the visual shots, the color palette, the logo typography and the symbols on the promotional materials reflect a clear attempt to emulate your franchise.
Sony: a license attempt… and the rejection
The legal conflict dates back to 2023, when Tencent would have started to develop Light of Motiram. The following year, during the 2024 Game Developers Conference, Tencent approached Sony with the intention of acquire an official license To create a game based on Horizon. Sony rejected the proposal. However, as stated in the lawsuit, Tencent continued to develop the game without authorization.
Sony assures that he tried Resolve the conflict informally, when he became aware of the project and its obvious similarities. Instead of stopping the development, Tencent would have tried to get the license again, without success. The Japanese company claims that Tencent’s insistence confirms that they knew perfectly well the similarity between both projects. Despite the negatives, they chose to advance with promotional materials, demonstrations and game tests.
Legal measures and requirements of Sony
Sony’s demand includes Accusations for copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and false designation of origin. In legal terms, Sony requires that:
- Tencent is prohibited from continuing to distribute and promote Light of Motiram in its current form.
- be granted one financial compensation of up to 150,000 dollars for each work of Horizon that has been copied. This could translate into a millionaire figure.
- Tencent is forced to Deliver all materials related to the game for destruction, such as copies, models, designs and marketing campaigns.
The demand also refers to a series of publications in specialized media such as Kotaku, Gamerant and TheGamer, who had already noticed the enormous similarities between Light of Motiram and Horizon. In addition, Sony includes as evidence user feedback on Steam and Reddit, where it is openly discussed that Tencent’s game seemed to be “inspired to the legal limit” by the PlayStation franchise.
The situation has generated intense debate on social networks and industry forums. The debate focuses on how far a creative inspiration turns into plagiarism. He also wonders if giants like Tencent are willing to cross that line in search of replicating the commercial success of their competitors.
What’s next?
for the moment, Light of Motiram Still listed in Steam, but Does not have a confirmed release date. It is not clear whether Tencent will stop its development or distribution in response to demand. It is also not known if he will continue his legal course until a possible resolution in the US courts.
Meanwhile, Sony seems willing to firmly defend the creative integrity of Horizon, one of its most successful intellectual properties of the last decade. Deliveries of horizon have sold millions of copies worldwide. It even has a live-action series in production for Netflix.
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