Sony and Tencent reach a settlement in a lawsuit concerning a "slavish clone" of Horizon: Zero Dawn

Sony from Japan and China's Tencent have ended their legal battle concerning the alleged resemblance between Sony's Horizon series and Tencent’s game, Light of Motiram.

Reported by The Game Post, the companies have reached a confidential settlement, resulting in the dismissal of Sony's lawsuit with prejudice, barring future cases on this issue against Tencent.

Each party will handle their own legal expenses.

In July 2025, Sony accused Tencent of blatantly copying its Horizon series with Light of Motiram after Tencent had previously proposed creating a Horizon game but was denied. The following release of Light of Motiram spurred the lawsuit.

In its lawsuit, Sony emphasized widespread recognition of the similarities between the two games, citing agreement among gamers and media that Light of Motiram significantly mirrored Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West.

In response during September 2025, Tencent accused Sony of attempting to monopolize gaming genre conventions, suggesting the latter was converting common genre elements into proprietary rights.

This argument from Tencent was dismissed by Sony as indefensible.

Sony further criticized Tencent's argument, pointing out that despite promoting Light of Motiram, Tencent postponed its release to 2027 following the lawsuit, which Sony claimed caused ongoing damage.

Earlier in December, Tencent ceased promotional efforts for Light of Motiram ahead of the January 2026 court hearing. The game currently remains unavailable on platforms like Steam and the Epic Games Store.