Sony has sued Tencent, claiming its new game, Light of Motiram, is a blatant copy of the Horizon series.
Sony Interactive Entertainment has filed a lawsuit against Chinese tech giant Tencent. The accusation: Tencent’s upcoming game Light of Motiram is an almost identical copy of the successful Horizon series. According to Sony, Tencent is deliberately infringing on copyrights and trademarks – and could intentionally mislead players.
“Slavish Clone” of the Horizon Games
As reported by news agency Reuters, the lawsuit was filed in federal court in California. In the filing, Sony describes Light of Motiram as a “slavish clone” of Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West. The game allegedly contains so many protected elements from the original games that players could easily believe it’s an official Horizon title.
What makes this especially explosive: Sony claims Tencent initially proposed a collaboration. According to the complaint, Tencent representatives approached Sony at a gaming conference in San Francisco in March 2024 and pitched the idea of developing a new Horizon game together. Sony declined and considered the matter closed.
However, according to the lawsuit, Tencent was undeterred and secretly continued working on Light of Motiram. The game has since been announced – including a trailer, screenshots, and its own Steam store page. Sony claims all these materials show strong parallels to Horizon.
A Red-Haired Heroine, Mechanical Beasts and a Post-Apocalyptic World
According to court documents, Sony sees the biggest similarity in the core concept: Like Horizon, Light of Motiram features a young, red-haired female protagonist. She fights for survival in a post-apocalyptic world alongside tribal groups – against giant, animal-like machines. In Tencent’s version, these creatures are called “Mechanimals” and, according to Sony, are strongly reminiscent of Horizon’s iconic robotic wildlife.
The open world style, the visual design, and even the marketing materials are allegedly so close to the original that confusion is likely. When the game was first revealed in 2024, online users were quick to point out how much it resembled Horizon, with comparisons circulating on forums and gaming websites.
Sony Wants to Block the Release
Through the lawsuit, Sony is seeking not only monetary damages, but also a court order to stop Tencent from releasing Light of Motiram. The company also wants to protect the “Aloy” trademark, referring to the main character of the Horizon series, who is considered iconic for the franchise.
The game is being developed by Polaris Quest, a Tencent subsidiary. Officially, Light of Motiram is described as an open-world adventure set in a land where human civilization has ceased to exist. In addition to the similarity in story, concept art showing mechanical gorillas, deer, and bulls has fueled criticism.
Tencent has not yet commented publicly on the allegations. Whether the release can go ahead as planned will largely depend on the court’s decision. For the industry, this case is yet another sign of how fiercely exclusive franchises and iconic game worlds are protected – and how far big studios will go to defend their intellectual property rights.