Sony sues Tencent over “slavish clone” of Horizon video games

Two of gaming’s greatest firms at the moment are in a really public dispute. Sony, maker of PlayStation and the multi-million promoting Horizon sequence (Horizon Zero Dawn, Horizon Forbidden West) has filed swimsuit towards Chinese gaming big—and Riot and Supercell proprietor—Tencent over the latter’s upcoming recreation Light of Motiram. Sony says Motiram, unveiled final November, is says is a “slavish clone” of Horizon.

The swimsuit, Sony Interactive Entertainment vs. Tencent, et al, was filed Friday in federal court docket in California, alleging that Tencent has violated Sony’s Horizon copyrights and logos with the event and promotion of Light of Motiram.

The swimsuit was first reported by Reuters.

Sony is asking the court docket to rule that Tencent violated Horizon’s copyrights and logos and to enjoin them from producing work that does so. Translation: They need the court docket to dam the sport’s launch in its present type.

The Horizon video games and Light of Motiram are set in post-apocalyptic futures, each function red-haired feminine protagonists battling mechanical beasts, each mash up motifs from indigenous tribes with futuristic tech.

In the swimsuit, Sony’s attorneys have a discipline day with side-by-side comparisons of the launched Horizon video games and pre-release promotional glimpses of Motiram…

And they reproduce many on-line takes in regards to the two video games, equivalent to this from Kotaku…

The most eyebrow-raising a part of the swimsuit is Sony’s declare that Tencent pitched PlayStation in early 2024, proposing that its Aurora Studios make a Horizon recreation. Sony says it declined.

Sony says it was unaware on the time of the Tencent/Aurora outreach of the then-unannounced Light of Motiram. Sony believes Motiram had already been in growth on the time of the pitch, probably a full 12 months prior.

The PlayStation-maker speculates within the swimsuit that Motiram studio Polaris Quest “on information and belief, is either another name for Aurora Studios or another wholly-owned Tencent studio working with Aurora Studios.”

Sony says it approached Tencent earlier this 12 months to work out the Horizon/Motiram points. The firm says Tencent once more requested to license Horizon, Sony once more refused, Motiram remained underway and so now Sony is suing:

Earlier this 12 months, Sony had discussions with Tencent making an attempt to informally resolve its concern that Light of Motiram violated its mental property rights. Tencent once more sought to license the Horizon mental property. Sony (once more) communicated clearly and unequivocally that it could not license the Horizon property to Tencent, objected to Light of Motiram, and insisted that it’s withdrawn. Tencent has since signaled that it rejected Sony’s calls for and would forge forward, releasing a brand new promotional trailer for Light of Motiram and asserting that, “[i]n the near future, Light of Motiram will also commence global testing.”

Tencent has continued to launch further promotional supplies suggesting the sport will quickly be made out there for play testing.

Sony is thus compelled to file this motion and to hunt judicial reduction to guard its beneficial and hard-earned mental property rights within the Horizon Franchise.

Tencent didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Read the full lawsuit at this link.

Update – 4:15pm ET: Adding a little bit extra right here from what Sony says was Tencent’s 2024 pitch doc about making a Horizon recreation by means of its Aurora studios. Tencent’s pitch included the concept a Chinese-flavored Horizon would have further enchantment…