Regarding the copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit filed by Sony against Tencent’s new title, 'Light of Motiram', Tencent has hit back hard, formally requesting the dismissal of the suit.

According to the gaming outlet 'Gamepost', Tencent recently filed a response to the copyright and trademark infringement claims Sony brought to a California district court. Tencent argues that the lawsuit is a blatant case of overreach, asserting that Sony is attempting to monopolize common genre tropes—such as red-haired protagonists, post-apocalyptic settings, and mechanical beasts—that have been staples in the industry for years.

To make their point, Tencent listed titles like 'Enslaved', 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild', 'Far Cry Primal', 'Far Cry New Dawn', 'Outer Wilds', and 'Biomutant' as examples. Tencent claims that since the elements Sony alleges were stolen have already been utilized across a multitude of other games, Sony’s case holds very little water.

Tencent even pointed out that the team behind 'Horizon Zero Dawn' was well aware of the similarities to 'Enslaved' during its own development. Guerrilla Games Art Director Jan-Bart Van Beek revealed in a behind-the-scenes video that the studio considered shelving the project after noticing that 'Enslaved', which predates 'Horizon Zero Dawn', also featured a red-haired warrior, a ruined world, and mechanical monsters. Jan-Bart Van Beek noted that Sony encouraged the team to stick with the original concept, and so the project proceeded.

Tencent also rebutted Sony's claims regarding licensing negotiations at the 2024 Game Developers Conference. Sony previously alleged in July that Tencent had requested a license for the 'Horizon' IP at the 2024 GDC, only to be refused. Tencent countered this by stating that the negotiations involved only a few of their subsidiaries and that no actual Tencent executives or employees were present, meaning the interaction cannot be construed as an admission of copyright or trademark infringement.

The game at the heart of this legal squabble, 'Light of Motiram', is an open-world survival crafting title announced last November. It is being developed by Tencent's subsidiary, Polaris Quest, and follows humanity's struggle for survival on a ruined Earth against the threat of mechanical lifeforms known as 'Mechabeasts'. However, the game faced accusations of being too similar to the 'Horizon' series even before its release, leading to Tencent updating several controversial pieces of content last August.