Sony has launched a lawsuit for copyright and trademark infringement against Tencent over what it calls a "slavish clone" of its Horizon game series, Light of Motiram.
Light of Motiram was first announced in November 2024, and it was immediately obvious to anyone even remotely familiar with the Horizon series that Motiram was at the very least drawing inspiration from Horizon, and that's being extremely generous with the comparisons. Being more appropriate and less generous, Motiram looked like a flat-out copy-paste job with a few changes in details and a new name.
Earlier this year, Tencent debuted a gameplay trailer for Light of Motiram, which did very little to show that Motiram was its own unique game compared to Horizon. Now, a report from Reuters reveals that Sony was paying attention to Light of Motiram, and to how media pegged it as a Horizon copy. According to Reuters report, Sony's complaint includes how the media described it as a "knock-off," even including the phrase "Horizon Zero Originality."
Sony also claims that Tencent had approached Sony with an offer to work on a Horizon game in 2024, which Sony declined.
We, as outsiders looking at Light of Motiram, might have seen it as a copycat of Horizon, but that's ultimately a public opinion. Proving it in court is a different matter entirely, as Nintendo is finding out with its attempt at suing Palworld makers PocketPair. Needless to say, it'll be interesting to see how the case goes, and the kind of precedent it sets for the future of the industry.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
