Sony has filed a lawsuit against Chinese tech giant Tencent over Light of Motiram, which bears striking resemblance to Horizon: Zero Dawn. Sony described the game as a “basic copy of Horizon” and has initiated legal action to block its release.
Tencent Developed a Counterfeit Horizon: Zero Dawn
Tencent initially made headlines in the gaming industry with its visual similarities to Light of Motiram, which it unveiled last year. The game’s promotional trailers received intense criticism for their strong resemblance to Horizon: Zero Dawn, a Sony-developed game that has attracted millions of players worldwide.
Shiftdelete.netThe trailers directly linked the environment design, character styles, enemy types, and gameplay mechanics to Horizon. Sony stated that despite this similarity, Tencent made no effort to authenticate itself.
Sony initially attempted to resolve the issue by contacting Tencent directly. However, after these efforts failed, the company initiated legal action. In its lawsuit, Sony stated that the game explicitly copied elements from Horizon: Zero Dawn, violating international copyright laws.
Details in the lawsuit revealed crucial information about the beginning of the process. After beginning development on Light of Motiram in 2023, Tencent contacted Sony in 2024, requesting a license for a game set in the Horizon universe. Sony rejected this offer, stating that Tencent continued development despite this and listed the project under a different identity to indirectly release it.
The game’s developer on Steam is listed as “Polaris Quest.” However, Sony maintains that Polaris Quest is actually Aurora Studios, a division of Tencent, and that this was deliberate manipulation. This allegation supports accusations that Tencent continued pursuing the same idea under a different label despite Sony’s rejection.
Light of Motiram bears significant resemblance to Horizon: Zero Dawn not only in terms of visuals and gameplay, but also in details such as character builds, interface designs, and enemy types. Therefore, Sony’s copyright infringement claim has generated widespread controversy within the industry. However, the examples are not limited to this.
A similar situation recently occurred with Palworld. The Pokémon Company filed a lawsuit against the Palworld developers due to its direct resemblance to Pokémon’s style. However, the legal action failed to prevent the game from reaching millions of players. A similar scenario is likely to occur for Sony.
