Tencentis currently in legal trouble with Sony over one of its games resembling theHorizonfranchise, and it turns out that the Chinese mega-publisher previously pitched an official entry in that series. In November 2024,TencentannouncedLight of Motiram, a futuristic survival game featuring robotic creatures named “Mechanimals” that can be tamed and ridden by a red-haired, bow-wielding female protagonist. Fans were quick to notice the similarities to Sony’sHorizonfranchise, and this wasn’t lost on Sony itself.
Earlier this week, Sony announced that it would befiling a lawsuit against Tencentfor copyright infringement overLight of Motiram, which Sony says is a “slavish clone” of theHorizongames. Sony is seeking statutory damages of up to $150,000 for each infringement, which may includeLight of Motiram’s robots being strikingly similar to the ones inHorizonand its main protagonist strongly resembling Aloy. If the lawsuit succeeds,Light of Motiramcould be blocked from release, with Tencent being ordered to destroy all related promotional material.
Light of Motiram’s connections toHorizoncould stretch even further than seemingly copying its premise, art style, and characters. As reported byGameSpot, Sony’s legal documents reveal that Tencent and its in-house development studio, Aurora, had previously approached the company in March 2024 to pitch aHorizonmobile GaaS (Games as a Service) spin-off. This new title would have taken Aloy to what remains of Asia at the summons of the mysterious “Orient.”
Tencent Pitched Horizon Mobile Game to Sony in 2024
Concept art for this pitch reportedly featuresHorizonlead characterAloystanding on the remains of the Great Wall of China, and other details from the would-be game included new tribes “inspired by ethnic minorities,” Eastern-themed aesthetics, and even new “mechanimals” inspired by Eastern mythology, such as a Machine modeled after a mythical Chinese dragon. During its pitch, Tencent stated that it would be looking to capitalize on theHorizonfranchise’s popularity in China, and the Aurora development team presented Sony with screenshots of its members playing theHorizongames as a sign of their devotion to the project.
However, Sony ultimately rejected Tencent’sHorizonpitch in April 2024, just afew months beforeLight of Motiramwas announced. Part of Sony’s argument in the newly announced lawsuit is thatLight of Motiramfeatures none of the Eastern elements of Tencent’sHorizonpitch, instead choosing to copy the look of the existingHorizongames. According to Sony’s reports, theHorizonseries has sold over 32 million units globally since the release ofHorizon Zero Dawnback in 2017.
