Late last year, aTencentgame called Light of Motiram went viral for being an obvious and unapologetic rip-off ofSony’sHorizon Zero Dawn. My colleague Jade Kingwrote at the time, “[The] title is ripping off Horizon Zero Dawn so blatantly that I can’t believe it has a Steam page.” Hilariously, that quote was included in Sony’snewly filed lawsuit against Tencentfor copyright and trademark infringement.
Light Of Motiram Blatantly Copies Horizon, According To Sony
There’s no question that Light of Motiram is a Horizon clone, butin its recent filing, Sony went into great detail about the specifics of what Tencent subsidiary Polaris Quest has stolen from Guerilla’s flagship PlayStation title. Sony alleges that Tencent intentionally emulated Horizon’s promotional material, copying “not only identical story and gameplay themes, cultural, and character elements, but also art style, landscapes, architectural and art elements, color palettes, fonts, and symbols. Lighting and points of view are also highly similar”.
It’s also worth noting that instead of attempting to at least steer clear of trademark infringement by not putting anime-fied Aloy in its game, they included a red-headed woman in basically the same outfit. Sony even alleges that the music was deliberately copied, with Tencent hiring a composer from Horizon Forbidden West to “replicate the unique sound” for Light of Motiram.
It’s also revealed in the filing that Tencent had pitched to Sony in 2024 that it “develop its own Horizon game in collaboration with [Sony Interactive Entertainment]. SIE rejected the idea and considered the matter closed.” This was, presumably, Light of Motiram, and it was announced later that year. Sony says Tencent tried again in 2025 to license the Horizon IP and was rebuffed.
But Hear Me Out. Should Rip-Offs Be… Allowed?
It’s not clear why Tencent thought it could get away with shamelessly stealing from one of the biggest IPs in the gaming world. I’m no copyright lawyer, so it’s unclear if a judgment against Tencent could bar it from releasing the game completely, but I’m inclined to believe that Tencent, at least, believes it wouldn’t. Perhaps it decided that even if it was barred from release outside of China, it would still be able to recoup its investment in the game’s development. Perhaps it even thinks its distinct enough that a lawsuit wouldn’t be successful at all.
After all, it’s notjusta Horizon clone – the official website says that it has survival elements, crafting, pet taming, and cross-platform co-op gameplay. It jacked the aesthetics of Horizon Zero Dawn, replicating everything from its environments and costumes to its animals, but seems to have attempted to innovate on its gameplay, creating something more akin to a Monster Hunter or Palworld experience.
It’s strange thatso many games coming out of Asia feel like reskins of what’s already worked in the West. In this case, Light of Motiram is two games in one.
I don’t deny that Polaris Quest has probably violated Sony’s trademarks here. I’d be surprised if a judge found in favour of Tencent in this particular case, considering how blatant the similarities are. But I do wonder if there’s any harm to be done to the wider gaming ecosystem in the event that Tencentdoeslose. Sony argues that Tencent has violated Section 43(a)(1)(A) of the Lanham Act, saying, in essence, that its promotional material intends to confuse players into thinking that Light of Motiram is an official or officially sanctioned Horizon game.
It’s hard to argue inthiscase that Light of Motiram is, for example, a homage. But homages are made all the time. One could argue Palworld is an homage to Pokemon – these cases are indeed quite similar, in that the two games are aesthetically similar in ways but have different gameplay. Should Tencent lose this suit, it could blur the line between homage and outright copyright and trademark infringement, making it easier for corporations to ‘defend their IP’ from smaller developers drawing inspiration from major titles through litigation.
The interesting question here is not if this “slavish clone”, in Sony’s words, is illegal. It’s if itshouldbe illegal. Artists rip each other off all the time, we just call that drawing inspiration from those that came before you.Stardew Valleywas heavily inspired byStory of Seasons, and went on to spawn an entire genre of ‘cozy’ farming sims. Imagine if instead of being allowed to go on his merry way, Eric Barone had been sued into oblivion for copyright infringement.
I have no interest in dying on this hill, on SonyorTencent’s side. But as with all legal decisions, one thing can lead to another, and then we’re all rolling down a slippery slope of lawsuits and accusations of theft.
