Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has filed a lawsuit against Tencent's game "Light of Motiram" for serious violations.PlagiarismThe latest developments in the case concerning its Horizon game series show that both parties...A preliminary consensus has been reachedTencent agreed to suspend all public promotion and testing activities for the game during the litigation process.
Accused of "slave-style plagiarism," with visuals strikingly similar to mechanical monsters.
This controversy stems from the open-world survival game "Wildlands Origins" developed by Tencent subsidiary Polaris Quest, which bears a striking resemblance to Sony Interactive Entertainment's "Horizon Zero Dawn" and its sequels in terms of game setting, mechanical beast design, and even character appearance.
In its lawsuit, Sony Interactive Entertainment directly accused the game of being a "slavish clone," alleging that Tencent deliberately misled consumers. Although Tencent argued that the game was a multiplayer cooperative survival game, unlike Horizon Zero Dawn's single-player action-adventure gameplay, the striking similarities in visual elements and marketing materials led Sony Interactive Entertainment to decide to take legal action.
Tencent agreed to suspend promotional activities in exchange for more time to respond.
According to documents submitted to the court by both parties, Tencent pledged not to conduct any new public tests or promotional activities during the preliminary injunction proceedings against Sony Interactive Entertainment. Furthermore, Tencent also pledged not to advance the game's release date before the fourth quarter of 2027.
In exchange, Sony Interactive Entertainment agreed to give Tencent more time to prepare its response to the ban.
The two sides will go to court in January next year.
Tencent has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Sony Interactive Entertainment's allegations are unfounded and asserting that "fame does not create a trademark."
Both parties have jointly requested the court to merge the hearing on the injunction with the hearing on the motion to dismiss, which is expected to be held as early as January 29, 2026. At that time, this legal battle over the boundaries of game creativity and copyright protection will see a crucial ruling.
