Sony has officially taken Tencent to task, filing a lawsuit for copyright and trademark infringement. The core of the grievance is that Tencent's upcoming title is a blatant copy of the Horizon series.

According to various international outlets, the legal papers were filed in a California district court on the 25th. In the complaint, Sony alleges that the Tencent-developed Light of Motiram has lifted core elements—from the structure and character designs to the typography of the title—straight out of Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West. Sony is seeking $150,000 USD in damages per work and is requesting an injunction against the release of Light of Motiram.

Sony further claims that Tencent was well aware of the overlap. It appears that at the 2024 Game Developers Conference (GDC), Tencent approached Sony to request a license for the Horizon IP, a proposal Sony declined. Sony also pointed out that in promotional materials for Light of Motiram, Tencent employed imagery that heavily leans on the likeness of Aloy, the protagonist of the Horizon series, intentionally leading players to believe this was the next official installment in the franchise.

Light of Motiram is an open-world survival crafting game announced last November, currently in development under Tencent’s subsidiary, Polaris Quest. The game is set on a devastated Earth where humanity struggles to survive against the threat of mechanical beings known as 'Mechabeasts.' However, since its initial reveal, the game has been dogged by controversy within the community, as the appearance of the 'Mechabeasts' bears a striking resemblance to the machines found in the Horizon series.