Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) recently filed a lawsuit in a California court, accusing Chinese tech giant Tencent's upcoming game "Light of Motiram" of blatantly plagiarizing its renowned action-adventure game series, "Horizon." The complaint alleges striking similarities across character design, creature aesthetics, setting, gameplay concepts, and even marketing materials.
In its complaint, Sony directly states that "Light of Motiram" is "a naked imitation of SIE's 'Horizon' series." The game is similarly set in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by mechanical dinosaurs, where players must survive in vast natural environments featuring tropical forests, deserts, and snow-capped mountains. Humans live in tribal societies, engaging in battles with mechanical beasts—a setup Sony claims is identical to the "Horizon" game setting.
Furthermore, "Light of Motiram" features a red-haired female protagonist whose hairstyle and attire are nearly identical to "Horizon's" lead character, Aloy. She even wears device-like equipment similar to Aloy's, making the similarities between the two difficult to ignore.
Sony further alleges that the marketing and promotional images for "Light of Motiram" bear strong resemblances to "Horizon," citing striking similarities in color palette, composition, typography, cultural motifs, camera angles, and lighting. The complaint also references numerous media reports and user comments from outlets like Kotaku, TheGamer, and GameRant, as well as comments on platforms such as Steam and Reddit, all highlighting the game's similarities to "Horizon."
Sony states that Tencent began development as early as 2023 and actively sought a license from Sony to develop a "Horizon" game at the 2024 Game Developers Conference (GDC). However, after Sony declined, Tencent allegedly continued to produce "Light of Motiram."
Sony later attempted private communication to resolve the dispute, but Tencent again requested a license. After being rejected once more, Tencent allegedly continued with promotion and testing.
Sony has now filed suit for copyright and trademark infringement, as well as false designation of origin, seeking a court injunction against the infringing activities and demanding up to $150,000 in damages for each infringed work. Additionally, Sony is requesting that Tencent surrender all related materials for destruction by Sony.
via： Polygon