Sony sues Tencent for copyright infringement, alleges Light of Motiram copies Horizon franchise

Sony is suing Tencent for the Chinese company's new game Light of Motiram, alleging that Tencent essentially copied the Horizon franchise.

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Sony Interactive Entertainment is suing Tencent for copyright infringement. The 48-page complaint alleges that Tencent's new game Light of Motiram bears a striking resemblance to Sony's trademarked and copyrighted Horizon video game franchise.

Sony has made three claims for relief across seven instances of harm, and seeks to have a judge force Tencent to admit its wrongdoing, to prevent Tencent from continuing this alleged copyright infringement, up to $150,000 per each work in the Horizon franchise that was infringed, to destroy all promotional materials of the infringing content, costs and expenses, and damages.

Check below for more info including direct side-by-side comparisons of Horizon and Motiram from the lawsuit:

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Tencent Copied the Horizon Franchise's Setting and Narrative

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Tencent Copied the Horizon Franchise's Tribal Characters

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Tencent Copied the Horizon Franchise's Main Character, Aloy

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Tencent Copied the Horizon Franchise's Machines

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The commonalities with Horizon disclosed in the Light of Motiram promotional game trailer and other promotional materials included 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.

This similarity extends to the music as well as the visual elements. The music (including vocals) in the Light of Motiram is also highly similar thematically and in specific melodies, sounds, rhythms, and structure to the Horizon scores; this was also deliberate, as Tencent hired a composer from the Horizon Forbidden West soundtrack to replicate the unique sound for Light of Motiram.

Tencent deliberately adopted Sony's approach to branding, using Tencent's knockoff red-haired female main character as the dominant visual element to signify the Light of Motiram game on multiple social media platforms.

Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC v. Tencent Holdings Ltd. (3:25-cv-06275)

• District Court, N.D. California
• Last Updated: July 29, 2025, 4:25 a.m.
• Assigned To: Joseph Spero
• Citation: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC v. Tencent Holdings Ltd., 3:25-cv-06275, (N.D. Cal.)
• Date Filed: July 25, 2025
• Date of Last Known Filing: July 28, 2025
• Cause: 17:101 Copyright Infringement
• Nature of Suit: 820 Copyright
• Jury Demand: Plaintiff
• Jurisdiction Type: Federal Question