Back in July, after being hit by a lawsuit regarding copyright and trademark infringement from Sony, Tencent has begun scrubbing and modifying various contentious bits of content.

The legal spat centers on the striking similarities between 'Light of Motiram', a new title from Tencent's subsidiary Polaris Quest, and Sony's crown jewel, the 'Horizon' series. 'Light of Motiram' is an open-world survival crafting game that first broke cover last November. It immediately found itself under fire for its post-apocalyptic setting, mechanical beasts that look suspiciously like wildlife, and the protagonist’s visual design and attire. The mechanic of taming and utilizing 'Mechabeasts' and 'Mechanimals' even led some to draw comparisons to Palworld.

About six months later, in July, Sony filed a lawsuit in a California district court against Tencent. Sony alleged that 'Light of Motiram' swiped core design elements, structures, and character aesthetics from 'Horizon Zero Dawn' and 'Horizon Forbidden West', seeking $150,000 (roughly 200 million KRW) in damages per title, alongside an injunction to stop the game's release. According to Sony, Tencent had actually approached them at the 2024 Game Developers Conference (GDC) to license the 'Horizon' IP, but when a deal couldn't be reached, the publisher went ahead and announced the game regardless.

With no word since the filing, it seems Tencent has quietly started tweaking images and videos related to 'Light of Motiram'. According to SteamDB, these changes kicked off on the 4th. The most notable adjustment is the main image, where the problematic Mechabeasts and the lead character have been swapped out for small, adorable penguin and Corgi-shaped 'Mechanimals'. These little bots serve as companions, helping with tasks like watering crops or charging gear.

Beyond these visual tweaks, Tencent is steadily updating screenshots and revising game descriptions. Furthermore, the studio has set promotional trailers to private, signaling that the publisher is clearly feeling the heat from the ongoing legal proceedings.

Meanwhile, alongside this extensive overhaul, Tencent has announced that the expected release window for 'Light of Motiram' is now set for Q4 2027.