Robo-Mammoths, Red Hair, and Lawsuits: Is Sony Trying to Trademark a Whole Vibe?
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Gaming giants Sony and Tencent are locked in a legal battle over Tencent's upcoming game, *Light Of Motiram*, which Sony claims is a "slavish clone" of its *Horizon* series, sparking a debate about genre conventions versus intellectual property in the industry.
Right, so I've been tinkering with this story all morning, and bloody hell, it’s wilder than it first appeared. We've got two gaming giants – Sony, the venerable PlayStation titan, and Tencent, the sprawling digital behemoth – locked in a legal dust-up that feels less like a corporate spat and more like a wizard duel over who actually invented the ‘fireball’ spell.
At the heart of it all is *Light Of Motiram*, a post-apocalyptic adventure announced by Tencent last November. Picture this: robot mammoths roaming, archers with red hair, and a distinct scrap-metal tribal aesthetic. Sound familiar? Yeah, you’re not alone. An ungenerous commenter (or, you know, Sony) might look at it and go, “Hold on a minute, that’s a slavish clone of *Horizon Zero Dawn* and *Horizon Forbidden West*, isn’t it?” And that, mate, is exactly what Sony said when they decided to sue Tencent back to the Neo-Stone Age for copyright infringement this past July. You can almost hear the furious button mashing from their legal department.
Now, here’s where it gets a bit spicy, like adding a dash of dragon’s breath to your morning brew. Sony’s California federal court filing alleges that Tencent actually *approached them* in 2024, pitching a new *Horizon* game under license, all while *Light Of Motiram* was apparently still cooking in the dev kitchen. The implication, as I reckon it, is that Tencent was going to make their own robo-dinosaur-hunting game regardless of whether Sony gave their official blessing. It’s a bold strategy, Cotton, let’s see if it pays off.
Sony, in what can only be described as a moment of glorious, dramatic flair, sought to block *Light Of Motiram*'s release, arguing it would cause “irreparable harm to SIE and the consuming public.” Irreparable harm, you say? I’m picturing a solitary tear rolling down the face of a member of the Consuming Public, begging the storekeeper, “Please, I wanted the *other* 6/10 metal dinosaur game, not this one!” Bless their cotton socks. Look, I might be a *Horizon* disliker (don't @ me), but I can’t deny that the games do look rather similar. It’s also pretty telling that Tencent quietly tweaked *Light Of Motiram*'s Steam page to remove some of the more… shall we say, *obvious* points of overlap with *Horizon*.
But Tencent, being Tencent, didn't just sit there and take it. Oh no. They’ve hit back with language even louder than a charging Thunderjaw. They’re contending that Sony is trying to nab “an impermissible monopoly on genre conventions.” And fair dinkum, they’ve got a point, haven’t they? They argue *Light Of Motiram* ain’t even finished yet, so how can you judge it for what it invents or borrows? It's like judging a spell by its initial fizzle, not its final explosion.
Beyond that, they're saying Sony is suing the wrong blokes altogether. According to a report by The Game Post, Tencent's motion to dismiss the case comments that “at bottom, Sony’s effort is not aimed at fighting off piracy, plagiarism, or any genuine threat to intellectual property. It is an improper attempt to fence off a well-trodden corner of popular culture and declare it Sony’s exclusive domain.” Crikey, that’s a punchy statement if I ever heard one.
And they didn't stop there! Tencent further argues that Sony's claims for *Horizon Zero Dawn*'s originality have been “flatly contradicted” by Guerrilla themselves, citing a behind-the-scenes doc where art director Jan-Bart Van Beek compared the game to Ninja Theory’s 2013 action-adventure *Enslaved: Odyssey to the West*. They also pointed to “the long history of video games featuring the same elements that Sony seeks to monopolise through this lawsuit.” They insist *Light Of Motiram* “merely employs the same time-honoured tropes embraced by scores of other games released both before and after *Horizon* — like *Enslaved*, *The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*, *Far Cry: Primal*, *Far Cry: New Dawn*, *Outer Wilds*, *Biomutant*, and many more.” Essentially, they’re accusing Sony of trying to “transform ubiquitous genre ingredients into proprietary assets.” And honestly, as a gamer who's seen a hundred fantasy RPGs with elves and dragons, or countless sci-fi shooters with space marines, this argument hits different.
As for that alleged GDC meeting in March 2024 where Tencent apparently pitched a licensed *Horizon* mobile game? Tencent's court motion states that since no actual Tencent executives or employees were at the meeting, nothing discussed there “is alleged to be an act of copyright or trademark infringement.” Hmm, that's a bit like saying 'it wasn't me, it was my shadow,' isn't it? A bit of a technicality, if you ask me.
Speaking of technicalities, Tencent’s legal wizards are also trying to get Sony’s lawsuit tossed on the grounds that they've sued the wrong entities. Sony's complaint names Tencent America, Proxima Beta U.S., and Tencent Holdings. However, *Light Of Motiram* is being developed and published by Polaris Quest / Aurora Studios, operating under Tencent Technology (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, and Proxima Beta PTE Ltd (a Singapore company doing business as 'Tencent Games' and/or 'Level Infinite'). Tencent's lawyers reckon Sony's “threadbare, conclusory allegations improperly lump these Defendants together with the foreign companies alleged to be responsible for the core conduct at issue.” Now, I’m no lawyer, but that reads to me like Tencent are trying to find a backdoor out of this whole kerfuffle.
While I sympathise more with the line about *Horizon* not being as original as all that – because let’s be real, few things are truly original in a world teeming with digital stories – I can't help but feel a touch of gentle skepticism about both sides here. I’m pretty sure if *Light of Motiram* had dropped before *Horizon: Zero Dawn*, Tencent would be screaming blue murder about breach of copyright. It’s like two sorcerers arguing over who invented the 'teleport' spell, forgetting that they both just adapted an ancient scroll.
Ultimately, picking sides in a copyright spat between two billion-dollar video game publishers is a bit like deciding which cybernetic T-Rex you most want to step on you. Both have immense resources, both are guarding their turf, and both are probably less concerned with artistic integrity and more with market share. What this whole saga really highlights, though, is the ever-blurring line between inspiration and imitation, and how quickly large corporations try to monetise a *vibe* rather than just an IP. It’s a fascinating, if slightly exhausting, peek behind the corporate curtain of gaming, showing us that even the most innovative ideas can quickly become battlegrounds for legal eagles. *Light Of Motiram*, slated for 2027, has certainly got a long, dramatic road ahead of it.
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Original Source: *Tencent accuse Sony of trying "to fence off a well-trodden corner of popular culture" with their Horizon copyright lawsuit* by Edwin Evans-Thirlwell for Rock Paper Shotgun. Published on Sept. 18, 2025. You can find the original article at
Tags: Gaming Lawsuit, Copyright, Tencent, Sony, Horizon
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun