When Your Inspiration Looks a Bit TOO Inspired: Tencent's Game Gets a Post-Lawsuit Polish
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Tencent quietly updated the Steam page for their game *Light of Motiram*, removing screenshots, changing the cover image, and altering the description, following a lawsuit from Sony alleging it was a 'slavish clone' of the *Horizon* series.
Right then, gather 'round, mates. I've been tinkering with this latest piece of gaming news, and bloody hell, it’s got more twists than a tangled spell on a windy night. It's about Tencent, their game *Light of Motiram*, and Sony's rather vocal displeasure – a displeasure so strong, it led to a full-blown lawsuit.
You know that feeling when you're playing a game, and something just feels… familiar? Like you've seen that specific shade of post-apocalyptic sunset before, or maybe that exact, rather striking red-haired protagonist wielding a high-tech bow against a giant robotic beast? Yeah, well, apparently, Sony felt that *very* strongly when they first clapped eyes on Tencent's upcoming *Light of Motiram*.
Now, I don't usually get into the nitty-gritty of corporate lawsuits – frankly, most of it reads like the instruction manual for assembling a flat-pack furniture set designed by a particularly grumpy goblin. But this one? This one's got a bit of drama, a dash of intrigue, and a whole lot of 'oopsie' energy. Just days after Sony formally lodged a complaint in a Californian court, Tencent quietly – and I mean *quietly*, like a ninja trying to return a library book – updated the Steam page for *Light of Motiram*.
What was Sony's beef, you ask? Well, their lawsuit effectively accused *Light of Motiram* of being a 'slavish clone' of their darling *Horizon* series. And let me tell you, when you put the marketing screenshots side-by-side, it’s not hard to see why they might think that. We’re talking a world choked by colossal, robotic dinos. We're talking vast, natural environments – forests, deserts, snow-capped peaks. And yes, we're definitely talking a red-haired woman protagonist, rocking an outfit that makes you double-take, complete with a gadget eerily similar to Aloy's 'Focus' earpiece. Fair dinkum, it looked like *Horizon*'s estranged cousin, twice removed and maybe a bit too eager to borrow your favourite shirt.
Sony's complaint paints a rather specific picture, too. They reckon Tencent started cooking up *Light of Motiram* in 2023. And here’s where it gets interesting: apparently, Tencent then approached Sony at the 2024 Game Developers Conference, asking for a licensing deal to make their own *Horizon* game. Sony, for reasons known only to the boardroom wizards, said 'nah, not today, mate.' But instead of packing up their robot dino models and moving on, Tencent allegedly just… kept going with *Light of Motiram*. Sony claims they tried to sort this out informally, a polite 'hey, that looks a bit too much like our thing,' but Tencent supposedly just came back with *another* request for a *Horizon* license. When that didn't fly, they allegedly just pressed ahead with promotions and playtests. You can almost hear Sony's lawyers sighing, can't you?
So, what happened when the lawsuit went public? Well, the *Light of Motiram* Steam page apparently got the digital equivalent of a frantic spring clean. A bunch of screenshots and trailers? Gone, vanished into the ether like a poorly cast invisibility spell. The cover image, which previously featured the rather Aloy-esque character front and centre, was swapped out for a far less contentious, more generic landscape shot. It's like they suddenly decided their lead character needed a holiday, a very long, very secluded holiday.
And the description? Oh, the description got a makeover too. Originally, it read like an excited pitch for a game about taming robot beasts and building bases in a post-apocalyptic world – eerily similar to certain other games we could mention. It was all about 'colossal machines,' 'vast open world,' 'build your base,' 'train Mechanimals,' and 'defy the machination.' Now? It's a lot more... survival-focused. 'Make smart use of everything around you to stay alive,' 'face off against formidable bosses,' 'every step is fraught with danger.' It's gone from 'robot dino adventure' to 'generic survival challenge' faster than you can say 'cease and desist.' Quite the pivot, wouldn't you say?
Perhaps the most telling, subtle change, though, was the release window. From a vague 'to be announced,' it’s now pushed all the way out to 'Q4 2027.' That’s a good three years away, mate. Plenty of time for a complete overhaul, or perhaps just to let the legal dust settle. Or maybe, just maybe, it gives them enough time to make sure their robot dinos look distinctly different from everyone else's. Or perhaps, dare I say it, to *actually* develop a unique game.
Whether these quiet, frantic updates are enough to soothe Sony's ruffled feathers – or their very expensive lawyers – remains to be seen. Sony's not just asking for a slap on the wrist here. They're going for copyright and trademark infringement, false designation of origin, and seeking damages up to $150,000 for each separate work where *Horizon*'s copyright has been infringed. Plus, they want Tencent to destroy all the infringing material. That's a pretty hefty demand, a bit like asking a wizard to un-polymorph all the chickens they've ever created. It implies they see this as more than just a little 'inspiration' gone awry.
It makes you wonder, doesn't it? In an industry where ideas constantly cross-pollinate, where's the line between 'influenced by' and 'straight-up copy-pasted'? This whole kerfuffle is a stark reminder that while innovation is king, respecting established intellectual property is the iron throne it sits on. What happens next is anyone's guess, but I reckon we'll be keeping an eye on *Light of Motiram*'s Steam page, just in case any more magic tricks happen. And let's hope, for the sake of creative integrity, that future games aim for genuinely new horizons, rather than just repainting existing ones.
Tags: gaming industry, copyright, lawsuit, game development, steam
Original article: IGN South Africa