Sony Reaches Settlement with Tencent Over Horizon Zero Dawn Imitation

Back in November of last year, Tencent unveiled a game titled Light of Motiram, which seemed to borrow heavily from the aesthetic of Sony’s Horizon series. At the time, it was clear that this game was a potential legal headache, and sure enough, in July, Sony initiated a lawsuit against Tencent over what it described as a “slavish clone.” Now, it appears that the matter has been settled quietly behind closed doors.

According to a court document, the case has concluded, with each party covering its own legal expenses, and—typical of such situations—the details of the settlement remain confidential. This suggests that we may never know the specifics of the agreement, but the deletion of the game’s Steam page hints at the outcome.

When Light of Motiram was first revealed, it was strikingly similar to Horizon Zero Dawn. Every aspect of the promotional material could easily be mistaken for a new installment in Guerrilla Games’ franchise, from the environment to the protagonist and the robotic creatures. Sony alleged in its lawsuit that it had recently turned down a collaboration with Tencent for a new Horizon game, only for Tencent to announce their eerily similar project shortly thereafter.

The creature designs in Light of Motiram were particularly blatant, making even Palworld seem innovative by comparison.

A month after Sony filed the lawsuit, Tencent took down the store pages for Motiram from both Steam and the Epic Game Store, which raised eyebrows. Developers Polaris Quest had also begun to strip away the most obvious references and imagery, attempting to present a more generic game. This was speculated to be a strategy to persuade Sony to settle, but it may have also been part of Tencent’s argument that Sony couldn’t claim a “monopoly on genre conventions” in a “well-trodden corner of popular culture.”

Fast forward to today, and it seems both companies have decided to cease hostilities and focus on their own projects. Tencent stated that “SIE and Tencent are pleased to have reached a confidential resolution and will have no further public comment on this matter.”

What this means for Light of Motiram will become clearer if it re-establishes its store pages or resumes updates. Its website still contains links to the now-removed Steam page, but its social media accounts and Discord have been inactive since March, notably before Sony filed the lawsuit.