Sony sues Tencent over alleged Horizon game copycat

Sony Interactive Entertainment has sued Tencent Holdings Ltd. for copyright and trademark violations, accusing the Chinese tech giant of ripping off its popular Horizon video game. The lawsuit was lodged in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.

Sony notes that Tencent was developing a game that shares many similarities with Horizon: Zero Dawn and its sequel, Horizon Forbidden West. The gaming titan refers to the game as a “slavish clone,” alleging that the game not only copies gameplay but also the storyline, characters, and artistic style of the Horizon franchise “in a substantial portion.”

Sony’s complaint said the similarities between Light of Motiram and Horizon are so significant and specific that they can only result from intentional copying. The company worries consumers will confuse Tencent’s game for an official spin-off or sequel. The Japanese tech giant says this confuses buyers and undermines the integrity of its intellectual property and the brand it has developed since 2017.

Sony turned down Tencent’s offer for collaboration

Tencent first approached Sony in 2023 to work together on a new game set in the Horizon universe, but the tech giant rejected the offer.

Shortly following that, Tencent announced Light of Motiram. Those changes and the game’s content set off alarms at Sony. The company says that Tencent took the pitch and used it to develop a near carbon copy of the product, and that it sells under a different name.

Sony’s complaint describes many of the same overlaps, including female characters with red hair, an open-world post-apocalyptic environment, fighting animal-like machines, and tribal societies patterned on the ones in Horizon. It also underlines how almost identical the two are in combat mechanics and skill trees.

The Tokyo-based company also cited industry commentaries as additional evidence. One video game journalist dubbed Tencent’s “Horizon Zero Originality” — a wordplay on the original game’s name, Horizon Zero Dawn. This view was expressed by others in the gaming press and Internet forums, with one naming Light of Motiram a “shameless rip-off.

Sony demands compensation in lawsuit against Tencent

Sony seeks a court order to prevent Tencent from developing or distributing Light of Motiram. It also sought financial damages for “willful and deliberate” infringement but did not specify an amount.

Legal experts say the case could establish a major precedent in gaming. If Sony wins, it could give companies more power to enforce copyright law internationally in the digital age — especially when visual and thematic inspiration veers toward what some might see as plagiarism.

Neither Tencent nor Sony’s attorneys had publicly responded to the suit as of Monday. Complete company silence has only fueled the flames in the gaming community.

Tencent operates some of the biggest gaming companies, including Riot Games, Epic Games, and Ubisoft, and has been broadening its game development lineup in recent years. A defeat here could impact the release of Light of Motiram and hurt Tencent’s reputation as a creator of original titles.

As the gaming industry only expands, intellectual property disputes like this one serve as a reminder of the fine line between inspiration and imitation — and the increasingly high financial stakes that are part of attempting to create the next blockbuster game.

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