Tencent has motioned to dismiss Sony's lawsuit alleging one of its upcoming games is a copy of the Horizon series. The game in question, Light of Motiram, immediately drew comparisons to Guerrilla Games' post-apocalyptic open-world RPG when Tencent subsidiary Polaris Quest revealed it in late 2024. While some fans and Sony seem to think Light of Motiram and Horizon are a little too similar, Tencent's latest filing claims these allegations blow things out of proportion.
Sony opened the Horizon lawsuit in July 2025, calling Light of Motiram a "slavish clone" of the Guerrilla Games series. According to the PlayStation maker, the central gameplay, setting, themes, and character design are similar enough to those in Horizon: Zero Dawn and Forbidden West to cause confusion among consumers and let Tencent benefit from the Sony IP's popularity. Now, though, Tencent has responded by saying that Sony does not have a strong enough argument for the case to even go through the full lawsuit process.
The 'Tencent Horizon Clone' Controversy Explained
For almost a year now, Tencent's Light of Motiram has been clouded in controversy for its similarities to PlayStation's Horizon franchise
Tencent Says Sony's Horizon Lawsuit "Fails to Allege Facts" Enough to Warrant a Legal Proceeding
In a September 17 court filing, Tencent asked the United States District Court for the Northern District of California to dismiss Sony's case, saying the lawsuit "fails to allege facts sufficient to state a claim" against Light of Motiram. According to the Motion, Sony's allegations were "vague" and "undifferentiated," pointing out general similarities and referencing overall conduct from Tencent instead of specifying which copyright-protected properties Polaris Quest infringed or how the studio would capitalize on it. While Light of Motiram has adjusted its description amid the lawsuit to minimize comparisons to Horizon, those kinds of changes are common with this sort of situation and may not have much bearing on the case, which Tencent says is "based almost entirely on speculation regarding future conduct" instead of hard facts.
Tencent's motion for dismissal also claims that the similarities between Light of Motiram and the Horizon series are things that are common throughout the video game landscape. More specifically, it cites games like Breath of the Wild, Far Cry: Primal, and Outer Wilds as other examples that share the same "genre ingredients." Pointing out how similarities are a larger trope and not ripping off a specific game is a common defense in these kinds of proceedings, and it's part of what makes such arguments so difficult. Notably, Nintendo sued Palworld developer Pocketpair in September 2024 over alleged copyright infringement, and a year and multiple patents later, that lawsuit is still ongoing. Determining what counts as borrowing someone else's IP and what's just taking inspiration or using broader common themes is rarely black-and-white, making it difficult to predict how these cases may end.
Interestingly, Tencent pitched an official Horizon game to Sony in March 2024, months before it announced Light of Motiram. Sony's legal filings mention this rejected proposal, although for now, it's unclear if and how that past will affect either company's case. The lawsuit is still in its early days, and copyright disputes are complex. Whether courts will accept Tencent's motion for dismissal and, if not, how the case will proceed from there is uncertain.
Horizon Forbidden West
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 88 /100 Critics Rec: 96%
- Released
- February 18, 2022
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Guerrilla Games
- Publisher(s)
- Sony
WHERE TO PLAY
Join Aloy as she braves a majestic but dangerous new frontier that holds mysterious new threats. This Complete Edition allows you to enjoy the critically acclaimed Horizon Forbidden West on PC in its entirety with bonus content, including the Burning Shores story expansion that picks up after the main game.
Explore distant lands, fight bigger and more awe-inspiring machines, and encounter astonishing new tribes as you return to the far-future, post-apocalyptic world of Horizon.
The land is dying. Vicious storms and an unstoppable blight ravage the scattered remnants of humanity while fearsome new machines prowl their borders, and life on Earth is hurtling toward another extinction.
It's up to Aloy to uncover the secrets behind these threats and restore order and balance to the world. Along the way, she must reunite with old friends, forge alliances with warring new factions and unravel the legacy of the ancient past.
- Franchise
- Horizon
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unsupported
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 29 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
