The legal battle between Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) and Tencent has come to a close with a confidential settlement. As a result, Tencent’s Light of Motiram is no longer available on Steam or Epic Games Store.
Sony and Tencent reach a settlement over horizon ‘Clone’
Tencent revealed Light of Motiram in 2024 and it didn’t take long for gamers, or Sony, to spot the similaries between the open-world survival RPG and the Guerrilla Games-developed Horizon series.
Sony quickly filed a copyright lawsuit in a California court over the summer, claiming that the Tencent project was a “slavish” copy of Aloy’s adventures. The filing cited a number of similarities between Light of Motiram and Horizon, including the setting, characters, robot dinosaurs, and technology. Sony’s filing was particularly pointed regarding Tencent’s ‘Mechanimals.’ The robotic beasts that populated Motiram were very similar to Horizon’s machines.
Tencent did update the game’s Steam page with new screenshots and promotional materials shortly after Sony’s filing, but the legal battle did not end there. According to new court papers filed yesterday, both parties have reached a confidential settlement.
Sean Durkin, head of communications for Tencent Americas, spoke to The Verge about the end of the dispute. “SIE and Tencent are pleased to have reached a confidential resolution and will have no further public comment on this matter. SIE and Tencent look forward to working together in the future.”
Light of Motiram disappears from Steam and Epic Game store
Although the details of the settlement have not been made public, one notable change today is that Light of Motiram is no longer listed on Steam of the Epic Game Store. The game’s official website is still live at the moment, but it seems like the title has been delisted in the major digital shops.
Given the confidential nature of the settlement, it is unlikely that many more details will be revealed about the exact deal that the companies agreed to. Sony and Tencent are frequent collaborators and this type of quiet settlement can help the two entities maintain their professional ties. At this point, it definitely looks like Sony has come out ahead and like Light of Motiram is not going to see release any time soon.
What is Next for the Horizon franchise?
Although the follow up to Forbidden West is likely still years away, Sony is clearly invested in the Horizon franchise and is developing multiple projects surrounding the IP. One of the next major projects that comes to fruition is likely to be the live-action adaptation.
Horizon was originally going to get a Netflix series, but that project was eventually scrapped and now a full-length feature film is in the works. Filming has not begun yet, but the project is eyeing a tentative 2027 release window.
The post Horizon Ripoff Delisted as Sony and Tencent Settle Dispute appeared first on VICE.
