Light of Motiram is postponed until 2027, Tencent in the legal trouble?

Remember Light of Motiram, the (almost) carbon copy of Horizon Zero Dawn? We wrote about it last year, and now Tencent's game is back in the news: we've just learned that Light of Motiram has been postponed until 2027, as part of its lawsuit against Sony. Let's try and untangle the knot!

Light of Motiram, the origin of the conflict between Tencent and Sony

Let's go back a few months. In November 2024, Tencent announced Light of Motiram, which immediately raised eyebrows throughout the gaming community. And for good reason: the game looks almost exactly like Sony's Horizon licence, whose first opus Horizon Zero Dawn was released in 2017 (and which I recommend!). I refer you to our previous article on Light of Motiram, to give you an idea of the glaring similarities between the two games.

It wasn't long before Sony woke up and sued Tencent for plagiarism, and now the case is in court. But, in the quietest of terms, despite the obvious similarity between the two games, Tencent's lawyers still maintained that the game was an original creation... Yeah.

Light of Motiram is postponed... provided it can be released one day!

Against this backdrop, the Chinese company has decided to suspend all publicity for its game and to cancel planned tests until the hearing with Sony takes place, at the beginning of 2026. As a further consequence, Tencent has also announced that Light of Motiram has been postponed until a potential release date at the end of 2027. But the company still needs to have the right to release it as is, which seems complicated, even if the two companies have decided to find an amicable solution.

I don't know any more about legal or copyright issues than you do, but all this does give the impression that Tencent is going to have to abandon or completely rethink its project. Quite a thorn in the side of the Chinese multinational (and its credibility), which was hoping to make a name for itself in the AAA games sector, where American studios dominate... We'll keep you posted on what happens next!