On July 28, PlayStation’s Sony Interactive Entertainment sued the China-based gaming publisher Tencent Games in U.S. California federal court for allegedly ripping off itsHorizonfranchise with the upcoming gameLight of Motiram. First officially beginning in 2017 with the then PS4 exclusiveHorizon Zero Dawn, PlayStation and Guerrilla Games’Horizonfranchise has quickly become a breakout hit in its eight years of existence, grossing millions of dollars worldwide and launching ventures into other mediums such as comics and film. Seemingly desiring to profit fromHorizon’s success and global appeal, Tencent and developer Polaris Quest began producing a game known asLight of Motiramthat has quickly become the source of controversy in the gaming industry for its near one-to-one copying ofHorizon’s features.
The Development of Tencent’s Light of Motiram
Following the critical and financial success of the third-person, open-world RPGHorizon Zero Dawn, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Guerrilla Games quickly began working on sequel and spinoff titles for the emergingHorizonfranchise. These developments would eventually culminate into 2022’sHorizon Forbidden West,2023’sHorizon Call of the Mountain, and 2024’sHorizon Zero Dawn RemasteredandLEGO Horizon Adventures.
Currently, Guerrilla is working on astory-focused multiplayer spinoff ofHorizon, and there’s aHorizon 3project and a film adaption ofHorizon Zero Dawnexpected to release following the spinoff’s debut. The success and rather rapid expansion ofHorizonreportedly caught the eye of Tencent Games in 2024, the publisher having previously worked on games such asCall of Duty Online,Call of Duty: Mobile, andPUBG Mobile.
According to Sony’s lawsuit, Tencent and Polaris Quest began developing the game that would come to be known asLight of Motiramin 2023. Tencent reportedly approached Sony executives at the 2024 Game Developers Conference in California and requested to form a licensing deal between the two companies so that Tencent could turntheLight of Motiramprojectinto aHorizonspinoff. Sony rejected this initial request, but Tencent and Polaris Quest continued work onLight of Motiram, officially unveiling the game in late 2024 via PlayStation’s Chinese social network accounts on Weibo and Bilibili. Upon seeingMotiram’s announcement and gameplay, Sony accused Tencent of violating its copyright onHorizondue to similarities between the two games.
Tencent reportedly attempted to gain a licensing deal forHorizonwith Sony after this accusation, but Sony rejected the prospect once more. Despite already coming into conflict with Sony overLight of Motiram’s similarities toHorizon, Tencent and Polaris Quest continued developingMotiram, going on to release more game details and gameplay footage along with hosting playtests ofMotiramin 2025.
This ultimately resulted in Sony officially suing the Chinese companies for copyright and trademark infringement. It accused Tencent of ripping off theHorizonIP and calledLight of Motirama “slavish clone” ofHorizon. Sony is seeking monetary damages of up to $150,000 for each separate work inHorizonthat’s been infringed and an order blocking Tencent from violating its intellectual property rights.
Light of Motiram Compared to Horizon
To get into its specifics,Light of Motiramis an upcoming third-person, open-world game set in a post-apocalyptic world where tribal humans must struggle to survive among “colossal machines” called Mechanimals. If that sounds exactly like the premise ofHorizon, most of the gaming community thought so too, withLight of Motiraminstantly being classified as a shamelessHorizonclone following its announcement. For instance,Light of Motiram’s reveal trailer depicts a close-up of a massive machine’s foot before showcasing ruins and a tribal woman witnessing herds of animalistic machines and cave paintings. These shots are practically one-to-one copies of scenes fromHorizon Zero Dawn’s E3 2015 trailer, launch trailer, and opening cutscene.Light of Motiram’s reveal trailer is even set in the 31st century and features tall red grass, just likeHorizon.
Light of Motirameven has a game description that’s eerily similar toHorizon Zero Dawn’s.Light of Motiram’s Steam listing states, “In a world overrun by colossal machines, explore the vast open world, build your base of operations, advance technology, train Mechanimals, and take on formidable bosses.” Meanwhile,theHorizon Zero DawnremasterSteam listing states, “In a far future where colossal machines roam the Earth, pockets of humanity survive in unique tribes among the lush, overgrown ruins of our long-lost civilization.” EvenLight of Motiram’s initial promotional image appears to be copying aHorizon Zero DawnE3 art piece made by concept artist Lloyd Allan, both of which depict a tribal woman overlooking a landscape filled with ruins, vegetation, and towering machines.
Light of Motiram’s Gameplay
InLight of Motiram, players battle gigantic, animalistic machines in tropical rainforests, desert landscapes, and snow-capped mountains. While players can destroy the machines with melee weapons and tribal ranged weapons, players can also tame and ride them to aid in battle. These are the exact same settings and core gameplay mechanics asHorizon Zero Dawn. However,Light of Motiramdoes feature some gameplay elements not seen in the mainlineHorizongames so far, such as a crafting system that allows players to build fortresses, shelters, and even ladders to reach high areas. UnlikeHorizon Zero DawnorForbidden West,Light of Motiramcan be played in online co-opor in select PVP modes, complete with cross-platform progression.
Sony, Horizon, and Light of Motiram’s Potential Future
Based on details already revealed by Sony in its lawsuit against Tencent, the Chinese company clearly desired to make aHorizongame of its own, and when it was unable to get a licensing deal, they simply decided to make a copy ofHorizonwithLight of Motiram. The suit is currently ongoing, but Sony will likely use comparisons betweenMotiramandHorizon’s machines, characters, world design, and even music to make the case. For example,Motiram’s deer-like Agni robot is clearly meant to be a stand-in forHorizon’s Tallneck. Similarly,Motiram’s currently unidentified elephant robot closely resemblesHorizon Forbidden West’s Tremortusk. All ofMotiram’s Mechanimals additionally feature elemental strengths and weaknesses, just likeHorizon’s varied Damage Types.
It’s unknown how long it will take for Sony’s lawsuit against Tencent to be resolved, but it could significantly impact both theHorizonfranchise andLight of Motiram’s release. Aside from Sony being concerned with Tencent ripping offHorizon, Sony is particularly worried thatMotiramwould confuse customers and artificially boost sales due to people thinkingMotiramis anew multiplayerHorizongame.Motiramcurrently has no definite release window, but if the lawsuit takes a while to be resolved,Motiramcould launch and potentially conflict withHorizonsales. However, if Sony wins the lawsuit,Light of Motiramcould potentially be canceled and delisted from online stores.
