Sony Interactive Entertainment has filed a lawsuit against Tencent in California, accusing the Chinese tech giant of blatantly copying its Horizon video game franchise. The complaint, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, targets Tencent’s upcoming title Light of Motiram, which Sony describes as a “slavish clone” of its Horizon series.
The news comes from Reuters that, according to Sony, the new game replicates core gameplay, visual design, and narrative elements found in Horizon: Zero Dawn and its sequel, both of which follow the story of Aloy, a red-haired protagonist exploring a tribal post-apocalyptic world filled with mechanical creatures. Light of Motiram, Sony claims, features nearly identical character designs, environments, and story beats.
Sony also noted that it had previously turned down a proposal from Tencent to co-develop a Horizon project. Shortly after, Tencent announced Light of Motiram, which some industry commentators have already dubbed a “knock-off” of Horizon, and the inspiration isn’t just obvious, it is blatant. The game’s cover art alone instantly evokes Horizon Zero Dawn vibes for anyone who has played the original games.
The lawsuit seeks monetary damages and a court order preventing Tencent from releasing the game or continuing to infringe on Sony’s intellectual property. Attorney Annette Hurst and her colleagues at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe are representing Sony in the case. Tencent has not yet responded publicly, and its legal representation has not been disclosed.
This isn’t the first time this has happened. Chinese developers, on rare occasions, have created heavily inspired versions of other, more popular games, in an attempt to garner positive reactions from their existing fanbases. But most such examples, such as the similarities between Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and something like Genshin Impact, are different enough in terms of being a product that it hasn’t resulted in lawsuits in the past.
