The video game industry is seeing quite a few lawsuits these days. According to a report by Reuters, Sony Interactive has filed a new lawsuit against Tencent in the California federal court for trademark infringement. As part of its lawsuit, the PlayStation maker has accused Tencent of stealing ideas from its Horizon series for upcoming game Light of Motiram.
In the lawsuit, Sony has referred to Light of Motiram as being a “slavish clone” of its Guerrilla-developed titles Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West, and has alleged that the title will confuse potential buyers because of how similar Tencent’s game looks.
Sony has also revealed that it was approached by Tencent for a collaboration on a new game in the Horizon franchise some time last year, but that it declined. The announcement for Light of Motiram, according to Sony, came shortly after this collaboration approach. Through the lawsuit, Sony is seeking monetary damages up to an unspecified amount, as well as a court order that would block Tencent from violating the Horizon IP.
Light of Motiram was announced late last year, and instantly came under fire for how similar it looks to Sony’s Horizon games. Fans were quick to take to Reddit threads and other social media platforms to discuss the similarities between the Mechanimals of Light of Motiram and the machines we see in Horizon games. Even the key art, noted fans, was incredibly similar.
Light of Motiram got trailer earlier this year that gave us a look at the Outcast Forest zone. Along with showcasing the zone itself, the trailer also went into detail about some of the more unique aspects of the upcoming title’s gameplay, such as the ability for players to put on a helmet that can allow them to take control of the Mechanimals.
The zone itself was described in the trailer as a woodland area where exiles of the Dariman Tribe were sent after being convicted of crimes. This likely means that players will have their hands full as they deal with hardened criminals, and that friendly characters and allies will likely be hard to come by.
Light of Motiram is currently in development for PC (via Steam and Epic Games Store), PS5, iOS and Android. Neither Tencent, nor developers Aurora Studio and Polaris Quest have confirmed a release date for the game so far. However, it has been available to wishlist through online stores for quite some time now, with the store listings noting a 2025 release window. When it comes out, the title will be free-to-play.
The upcoming game will have quite a bit of emphasis on its survival mechanics, and players will have to make sure that they have enough materials to not only build up their base, but also to craft equipment that is good enough to allow them to survive in its harsh environments. The building system itself will be powered by realistic physics simulations to allow players quite a bit of freedom in their architecture.
Light of Motiram also has online multiplayer, letting players jump in and out of each others’ games without having to worry about matching progression.