Sony Interactive Entertainment earlier filed a lawsuit against Tencent in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.File a lawsuit, accused its upcoming new game "Light of Motiram" of obvious plagiarism of its own best-selling game "Horizon" series, and asked the court to order the game to be stopped from being released and to pay compensation for the infringement.
Sony Interactive Entertainment pointed out that "Wilderness Origins" has "high overlap" with the "Horizon" series in many aspects, including world view structure, art style, character design, and gameplay mechanics. Even the image of the classic protagonist "Aloy" was "borrowed" by Tencent. This caused many players to mistakenly believe that this was a new work in the "Horizon" series when watching trailers and social media content. The level of confusion was extremely high and seriously damaged Sony Interactive Entertainment's brand reputation and market rights.
Sony Interactive Entertainment emphasized that the main purpose of the lawsuit is not only to prevent obvious copyright infringement, but also to protect the long-term value accumulation of the creative industry.
In its lawsuit, Sony Interactive Entertainment bluntly stated that Wild Origin's design attempts to "profit from the intellectual property of others," infringing on copyright and trampling on the hard work of its creators. The lawsuit even cites player reviews of the game, describing Tencent's actions as "crazy," "shameless," and "without any bottom line."
In its complaint, Sony Interactive Entertainment alleges that Tencent proposed collaborating on a new Horizon series title as early as 2024, but was subsequently declined. Just a few months after the failed collaboration, Tencent released Wild Origins, a game with a very similar setting and content, leading Sony Interactive Entertainment to strongly suspect Tencent of deliberately imitating the Horizon series.
Wild Origins is currently planned for release on PC, Android, and iOS platforms, with an official launch slated for later this year. According to previous information released by Tencent, the game, developed by its subsidiary Northern Lights Studio, features open-world, survival-building elements. Set in a new world where human civilization has been wiped out and nature and machinery intertwine, players will explore, hunt, and rebuild their homes across diverse terrains, including rainforests, deserts, and snowy mountains, while also uncovering the secrets of past civilizations.
However, the currently released gameplay footage, scene design, and character movement system bear a striking resemblance to the Horizon series. From the design of the mechanical behemoths, the protagonist's climbing and archery action modules, and even the interface layout and cutscene narrative techniques, they are practically identical to Horizon: War of Dawn and Forbidden West, which is the key factor that prompted Sony Interactive Entertainment to take legal action.
In its lawsuit, Sony Interactive Entertainment requested the court to require Tencent to pay statutory damages of US$15 for each infringed work in the "Horizon" series, or to provide Sony Interactive Entertainment with actual losses suffered due to infringement, plus additional variable damages, and to completely ban the distribution and operation of "Wilderness Origins".
When Wild Origin was announced in November 2024, a promotional video was reposted by PlayStation China's official Bilibili channel, mentioning future collaboration with PlayStation. This move initially led to speculation that the two parties were planning further collaborations. However, the video has since been deleted, indicating that the partnership has fallen through. However, Tencent still plans to release the game, sparking dissatisfaction from Sony Interactive Entertainment.
