Sony Interactive Entertainment has filed a lawsuit against Tencent for copyright and trademark infringement. Specifically, SIE is accusing Tencent of ripping off its popular and award-winning Horizon PS4 and PS5 games.

Tencent’s Light of Motiram is a “slavish clone” of Horizon, says Sony

According to Reuters, SIE claims in the lawsuit that Tencent’s upcoming game, Light of Motiram, is a “slavish clone” of its Horizon games, with similar gameplay, story, art direction, and more. It also stated that SIE turned down an offer from Tencent to collaborate on a new game in the PlayStation franchise, in which the company later revealed its look-alike.

SIE is asking for an order to block Tencent from violating its intellectual property rights, as well as an unspecified amount of monetary damages.

Developers take inspiration from other games all the time. However, Light of Motiram’s key art looks like a blatant rip-off of Horizon: Zero Dawn, down to the red-haired protagonist. From the gameplay, it doesn’t look like a direct copy, but the comparisons of its art direction and story vibes are undeniable. You can check it out above, and draw your own conclusions.

Horizon: Zero Dawn was originally released for the PS4 back in 2017, which also received DLC in the form of The Frozen Wilds. The sequel, Horizon: Forbidden West, was released for the PS4 and PS5 in 2022, which also received DLC with Burning Shores. In 2023, a VR spin-off called Horizon: Call of the Mountain was released for the PS VR2. Last year, Lego Horizon Adventures was released, which retold the events of the first game in Lego form.

Although it has been less than a decade since its original release, a remaster of Horizon: Zero Dawn was released last year.

In terms of Horizon’s future, the status of its supposed NCSoft-developed MMO is up in the air. It was reported earlier this year that the project was canceled. However, the reporter who originally reported on the developer’s cancellations confirmed their story was not related to the Sony franchise.

The post Tencent’s Horizon Zero Dawn Look-alike Taken to Court by Sony appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.