Sony sues Tencent for its Horizon Zero Dawn "rip-off" Light of Motiram

Nintendo's legal proceedings against Pocketpair's Palworld seemed inevitable, and when they finally arrived, it was big news. When I first saw footage of Light of Motiram - another open-world survival game, this time from Tencent subsidiary Polaris Quest - a similar chain of events seemed almost certain to arise. Sharing a lot of aesthetic resemblances to Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, Sony was always going to feel aggrieved by the game. Now, it's opened up a lawsuit against Tencent for copyright and trademark infringement, describing Light of Motiram as a "rip-off" and "slavish clone" of the Horizon series.

There are some glaring similarities between Light of Motiram and Horizon, but the biggest is the inclusion of its 'Mechanimals.' While robotic creatures are found in plenty of games, many of those designed by Polaris Quest look incredibly similar to those found in Aloy's adventures. Layer on top of that the fact that the player character and other human NPCs wear tribal clothing and it's set in an open world that's been taken over by these mechanical beasts, and it's hard to ignore the resemblances.

Filed to courts in California, Sony is now suing Tencent and seeking damages for copyright infringement. The company calls Light of Motiram a "slavish clone" of Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, and believes that the close similarities between them and this new survival game will confuse consumers.

Interestingly, Sony also alleges in the lawsuit that Tencent had previously approached it to collaborate on a new game in the Horizon universe. Sony rejected those plans, only for Light of Motiram to then appear later down the line.

GameSpot, which has seen the full lawsuit, reports that Sony is requesting $150,000 in damages for each game in the Horizon franchise that Light of Motiram infringes. It also wants to destroy all of Tencent's products and marketing materials that feature "prohibited marks."

What is rather strange, from the perspectives of both parties given the blatant Horizon similarities, is that Light of Motiram is seemingly in development for Sony's PS5. Initially, it was revealed as a game coming to PC and consoles, with no specific platforms mentioned. But some trailers posted to Chinese websites displayed the Playstation logo at the end.

Tencent is yet to respond to Sony's lawsuit, but I've got a feeling this is all about to snowball into another Pokémon versus Palworld situation. Until we hear more on this story, check out some of the best open-world games you can play right now. Alternatively, head to our best gaming monitor guide if you're looking to refresh your setup in the near future.

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