In July, Sony filed a lawsuit against Tencent’s new game – Light of Motiram – accusing it of copying the aesthetic of the Horizon series.
Tencent has since responded by suggesting that Horizon wasn’t so much of a unique idea to begin with, as it was a collection of tropes seen in other properties and games before its release, arguing that Light of Motiram merely follows in this tradition.
Repeated iconography, imagery, gameplay elements and visual inspiration appear again and again in the world of gaming, so it’s understandable where this response is coming from.
Sony Lawsuit Against Tencent
Originally, when Sony announced its lawsuit, it claimed that Tencent had been working on the game since 2023 (a year before its reveal), and that they had approached Sony with the intent of pitching this game as its own Horizon title, made in collaboration with them.
Sony rejected the pitch but the game continued production and presumably became Light of Motiram. When Sony and Tencent couldn’t resolve the matter informally, the lawsuit was filed, with Sony claiming that Tencent had “misappropriated protectable elements of [Sony Interactive Entertainment’s] copyrights in the Horizon franchise.”
The Counter Claim
One of the key points in Tencent’s counter-claim is that one of Guerilla’s (the developers of Horizon) own employees, art director Jan-Bart Van Beek, spoke of the inspiration behind the premise and setting.
Tencent said: “That claim is startling, because it is flatly contradicted by Sony’s own developers, not to mention the long history of video games featuring the same elements that Sony seeks to monopolise through this lawsuit.”
“Sony’s effort is not aimed at fighting off piracy, plagiarism, or any genuine threat to intellectual property. It is an improper attempt to fence off a well-trodden corner of popular culture and declare it Sony’s exclusive domain.”
How the Lawsuit Will Affect Light of Motiram
Tencent’s game has already changed itself to some degree in light of these allegations, editing the description and available images on its Steam page to remove the elements that most closely resembled Horizon.
It’s unclear whether this marks any difference in the final product or whether it’s just due to the ongoing legal dispute, but it comes at a time when Sony is looking to turn some of its most profitable franchises into movies, such as Helldivers and Horizon Zero Dawn adaptions, which might explain why they would be especially concerned about copycat games.
