Tencent Fights Back at Sony Over Horizon Copycat Claims in Light of Motiram Case

A major dispute has erupted in the gaming world as Tencent hit back at Sony following a lawsuit claiming that Tencent’s new game Light of Motiram blatantly copied Horizon. Tencent accused Sony of attempting to monopolize the Action RPG genre rather than protecting true intellectual property rights, calling it an unfair restriction on creative freedom.

The conflict began when Sony filed a lawsuit on July 25, alleging that Light of Motiram bore an uncanny resemblance to Horizon. Sony used strong language, describing the game as a “shameless copy” and even a “servile imitation.”

Tencent immediately responded, rejecting the accusations. The company argued that Horizon itself was built on long-established gameplay concepts and elements seen in other titles such as Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Far Cry: Primal, Far Cry: New Dawn, Outer Wilds, Biomutant, and more. According to Tencent, it was inaccurate to claim that Horizon represented a world that had “never existed before” as Sony suggested.

Instead, Tencent accused Sony of trying to lock down the Action RPG space as its own exclusive domain. The company stated, “Sony’s efforts are not about defending intellectual property but about fencing off cultural territory that players already share, and declaring it as Sony’s property alone.”

The lawsuit has now escalated into a high-stakes battle between two industry giants, with Horizon and Light of Motiram at the center of the clash. While Sony insists the game is a blatant copy, Tencent argues that this is less about plagiarism and more about restricting creativity and competition within the industry.

How the case will conclude remains uncertain, but it is shaping up to be one of the most significant disputes in gaming, highlighting the long-running debate over what counts as inspiration and what crosses into copying.