Game On! Sony Sues Tencent For Millions Over “Slavish Clone” Of Post-Apocalyptic ‘Horizon’ Franchise
Grind your consoles.
The fractured legacy between Japan and China aside, Sony Interactive Entertainment is suing Tencent for copyright infringement, some big bucks and to put a halt to the release of the Middle Kingdom company’s latter’s “ slavish clone” Light of Motiram video game.
“Tencent’s unlawful copying of the protected audiovisual elements of the Horizon games, as well as its deliberate adoption of a confusingly similar character mark, constitutes both copyright and trademark infringement that should be enjoined immediately to prevent irreparable harm to SIE and the consuming public,” the Playstation media giant states in a July 25 action filed in federal court against the Shenzhen-based tech conglomerate.
Read Sony’s jury seeking lawsuit against Tencent over the forthcoming Light of Motiram here.
The decades old context of Chinese companies being accused of ignoring IP rules obviously plays a big role here in the background. Closer to the foreground, first shipped in 2017, the post-apocalyptic Horizon has sold tens of millions of copies and seen several sequels and spin-offs, including 2024’s LEGO Horizon Adventures
Aiming to score “statutory damages of up to $150,000 for each separate work in the Horizon Franchise infringed” allegedly by the Motiram game, which still has a TBD release date, Sony also wants orders “preliminarily and permanently” stopping the game from ever reaching market.
And, they are very specific – like, with side-by-side graphic and more, character specific.
“The main protagonist of Horizon Zero Dawn is a striking figure named ‘Aloy’ characterized by her fiery red hair, tribal-inspired attire, specific-colored accessories, and distinctive facial markings; her journey from outcast to guardian of humanity anchors the game’s narrative and emotional core,” the three-claim and jury trial seeking complaint declares. “Tencent also used its rip-off of the iconic Horizon main character ‘Aloy’ as the centerpiece of its pre-release marketing and promotional strategy, deliberately causing numerous game lovers to confuse Light of Motiram as the next game in the Horizon series when encountering Tencent’s promotional game play videos and social media accounts.”
In what could quickly become a true legal brawl worthy of Call of Duty: Mobile (which was developed by a Tencent subsidiary in 2018), neither reps for Sony’s Playstation nor the 2003 launched defendant responded to request for comment on the lawsuit.
Reading a bit like a Bible for a game itself, the document from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe’s Annette Hurst, Diana Rutowski and Laura Wytsma reveals that Sony tried to play nice initially – at least from their POV.
“In March 2024, at a gaming conference in San Francisco, California, Tencent executives approached Sony with a pitch: to develop its own Horizon game in collaboration with SIE,” the attorneys say in what could be the real cannery in the coal mine here. “Sony rejected the idea and considered the matter closed.”
Alas, Tencent apparently did not consider the matter closed.
“Earlier this year, Sony had discussions with Tencent trying to informally resolve its concern that Light of Motiram violated its intellectual property rights,” the 48-page filing goes on to detail. “Tencent again sought to license the Horizon intellectual property. Sony (again) communicated clearly and unequivocally that it would not license the Horizon assets to Tencent, objected to Light of Motiramand insisted that it be withdrawn. Tencent has since signaled that it rejected Sony’s demands and would forge ahead.”
Or, as Aloy says upon her return to her Nora tribe in Horizons: “I fought my Way past an army while you cowered in this cave, do you really think you can stop me?”
Game on!
