According to KitGuru.net, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Tencent have reached a confidential settlement in their lawsuit over the game Light of Motiram. The legal action, which Sony filed months ago, alleged the game infringed on the Horizon Zero Dawn intellectual property. With the settlement, the need for a trial has been avoided, and the lawsuit will be formally dismissed. Crucially, the dismissal is “with prejudice,” meaning Sony cannot re-file the case later. The immediate outcome is that Light of Motiram has been delisted from platforms, including the Epic Games Store, as confirmed by its removal spotted by The Game Post. The terms of the deal between the two gaming giants remain secret.
Why Sony swung so hard
Look, this wasn’t just about protecting a brand’s aesthetic. Sure, Light of Motiram looked like a straight-up clone with its mechanical beasts and post-apocalyptic tribal vibe—you can’t blame Sony for seeing red. But here’s the thing: the timing is everything. Sony has its own Horizon multiplayer future to protect. We’re talking about a PC MMO from NCSoft in the works and a multiplayer spin-off from Guerrilla Games itself. Letting a Tencent-published game that basically copied the homework establish a foothold first? That’s a strategic nightmare. It would have diluted the brand right before Sony’s own big push. So this lawsuit was a preemptive strike, a way to clear the field. And it worked.
A quiet retreat for Tencent
Tencent’s move here is pretty telling. They settled and agreed to delist. They didn’t fight it out in a long, drawn-out court battle. That suggests a couple of possibilities. Maybe their legal position was weaker than they hoped. Or, more likely, the cost and PR headache of fighting Sony just wasn’t worth it for this specific title. Tencent has a massive portfolio; sometimes it’s smarter to cut your losses on one project than to risk a damaging precedent or an expensive loss. It’s a quiet retreat, but probably a calculated one. They save face with a confidential settlement and move resources to the next thing.
The bigger picture on IP
This case is a pretty clear signal to the whole industry, especially in the live-service and multiplayer space. Sony is going to be fiercely protective of the franchises it’s betting big on. We’re not in the era of vague “inspired by” homages getting a pass anymore. When a company has a nine-figure production and a decade-long roadmap for a universe, they will come after anything that even smells like infringement. For developers and publishers, the message is simple: if you’re building a game in a popular genre, you’d better make sure your core identity is distinct. Because if it’s not, and you’re big enough to be a threat, you might just get a lawsuit dropped on you before you even launch.
