This week, a major legal dispute shook the gaming industry as Sony filed a lawsuit in a US federal court in California, accusing Tencent’s new game Light of Motiram of copying elements from its flagship Horizon franchise. Sony is seeking an injunction and substantial damages, according to the court filing.
Details: Sony is asking the court to order Tencent to pay unspecified damages and to issue an injunction to prevent further infringement of its intellectual property. The case is being heard in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, under case number 3:25-cv-06275.
- The complaint states that Light of Motiram is a “slavish clone” of the Horizon series in key aspects such as mechanical creature design, protagonist setup, visual style, and promotional materials. Both games are set in post-apocalyptic worlds overrun by mechanical creatures, where human civilization has regressed into tribal societies; both protagonists are red-haired women equipped with similar ear-mounted scanning devices, the complaint noted.
- The filing also accuses Tencent of copying the movement patterns and environmental interactions of the mechanical creatures. In addition, the title font, color scheme, and cinematic language used in Light of Motiram’s promotional trailers are alleged to deliberately mimic the visual identity of Horizon.
- The case has been accepted by the US District Court in California. Tencent has not yet issued a public response.
Screenshots from the filing:
Context: This lawsuit is not Tencent’s first copyright dispute. Previously, NetEase’s Eggy Party creator accused Tencent’s Dream Star of copying its map, and South Korea’s NEXON sued Tencent’s QQ Tang for allegedly plagiarizing Crazy Arcade.
- In 2024, the Eggy Party accusation sparked online debate, but no formal legal outcome has been made public and the matter is believed to have been resolved privately or remains undisclosed.
- Regarding the 2006 lawsuit filed by NEXON, the court ultimately ruled that the claim was not valid, and Tencent won the case.
- Last month, some reports indicated that Tencent was considering a $15 billion acquisition of NEXON. Tencent later denied the reports, stating that there were no acquisition plans or negotiations.
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