Back in July, Sony Interactive initiated a lawsuit against the tech-company Tencent. Sony alleged that Tencent had willfully infringed upon their Horizon intellectual property with their unreleased game Light of Motiram. Now, five months later, the lawsuit has been settled and Light of Motiram has been pulled from multiple game stores.
When Sony first initiated the lawsuit, they referred to Light of Motiram as a “slavish clone” of their Horizon series. According to Sony, Light of Motiram’s red-haired heroine, tribal society, post-apocalyptic setting, and imposing robotic animals were eerily similar to elements in the Horizon franchise. Through the lawsuit, Sony wished to prevent Light of Motiram from being released and receive compensation for alleged monetary damages.
Shortly after Sony filed the lawsuit, Tencent motioned to dismiss the claims brought against them. Tencent alleged that Sony was not fighting to protect their intellectual property. Instead, the tech-company argued that Sony was merely trying to fence off “well-trodden” video game imagery, including the aforementioned elements Sony cited in their original filing. According to Tencent, similar concepts are present in other video games, including The Legend of Zelda or Outer Wilds. Tencent concluded that these factors, combined with the unreleased status of Light of Motiram, made it impossible for Sony to argue their game had harmed Sony in any capacity.
Sony responded to Tencent’s motion to dismiss roughly a month after the motion was filed. Sony alleged that Tencent was “playing a shell game…to avoid being held accountable.” In other words, Sony argued that Tencent was using deceptive tactics in order to obfuscate their role in the development of Light of Motiram. Furthermore, Sony claimed that the Horizon-esque promotional material for Light of Motiram still infringed upon Sony’s intellectual property, despite Tencent replacing them shortly after the lawsuit began. Sony’s response re-affirmed their desire to block Light of Motiram from releasing with the Horizon-esque elements they originally cited.
Now, the tense legal battle has finally ended. On December 17th, The Game Post reported on the released court documents confirming the case’s closure. Based on these documents, the case has ended with a confidential settlement. In other words, both Tencent and Sony have agreed to keep the specific details of the case and settlement private.
The only two stipulations revealed in the document are for both parties to pay for their own legal expenses and have “all pending motions [be] withdrawn and for this action [to be] hereby dismissed with prejudice.” The latter stipulation will not allow Sony to refile the same claim against Tencent, which means that the case cannot be reopened in the future.
The closure of the lawsuit has coincided with the sudden disappearance of the Steam and Epic Game Store pages for Light of Motiram. It can be assumed that the game will either undergo major changes or simply never be released.
With the lawsuit’s conclusion, no more information regarding the case will be made publicly available. When, or if, Tencent will clarify the future of Light of Motiram remains unclear.