Sony Escalates Copyright Battle, Files Preliminary Injunction Against Tencent’s ‘Light of Motiram’

The high-stakes legal confrontation between gaming titans Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) and Tencent has reached a critical juncture. Sony has officially filed for a preliminary injunction against the Chinese conglomerate’s upcoming open-world survival game, Light of Motiram, doubling down on its earlier copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit. The motion, submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, seeks immediate judicial action to halt Tencent’s promotional activities and development that allegedly copy elements of Sony’s highly successful $Horizon Zero Dawn and $Horizon Forbidden West franchise.

The legal move comes after Sony initially sued Tencent and developer Polaris Quest in July 2025, labeling Light of Motiram a “slavish clone” of the Horizon series. Tencent had previously responded with a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the game merely utilizes “well-trodden” genre tropes—such as a tribal huntress fighting massive robotic creatures—and that Sony was attempting to assert an “impermissible monopoly” on common cultural elements. Sony has now forcefully rejected this defense, calling Tencent’s arguments “nonsense” in recent court filings.

The Core of the Dispute: Aloy and Intellectual Property

At the heart of the injunction request are several specific elements of Light of Motiram that Sony claims directly infringe upon its intellectual property. The most prominent is the game’s protagonist, described by Sony as a “fierce tribal warrior huntress characterized by fiery red hair,” who bears a striking and arguably deliberate resemblance to Horizon’s main character, $Aloy. Sony argues that the copying of the $Aloy Character Mark is “egregious” and intended to trade off the established goodwill and reputation of the PlayStation icon.

The injunction also seeks to bar Tencent from using:

• A specific trailer melody that Sony alleges is too similar to key compositions from the Horizon Zero Dawn original soundtrack.
• Other visual and storyline elements that mirror the post-apocalyptic world and machine-animal designs of the Horizon franchise.

In a sworn declaration supporting the motion, a PlayStation executive highlighted that the confusion caused by Light of Motiram is already jeopardizing the continued success and expansion plans for the Horizon franchise, including the highly anticipated film adaptation, which is reportedly set to begin shooting in 2026. This emphasizes the immediate, $irreparable harm Sony claims to be facing.

Tencent’s Response and the Release Delay Tactic

Tencent’s initial counter-argument centered on the fact that the release date for Light of Motiram was quietly delayed from late 2025 to Q4 2027 following the initial lawsuit. They argued that such a distant release date undermines Sony’s claim of “immediate threatened injury,” a prerequisite for a preliminary injunction. Furthermore, the company notably scrubbed its Steam page of many of the most contentious screenshots and promotional images, including those prominently featuring the Aloy-like protagonist and robot creatures.

Sony views these actions as an admission of guilt and a corporate maneuver, accusing Tencent of playing a “shell game” to avoid legal liability. “The damage is done—and it continues,” Sony’s filing stated, citing numerous media reports and widespread fan reaction online that immediately denounced Light of Motiram as an obvious “knock-off.” Sony contends that the public confusion and outrage generated by the initial promotional material are sufficient evidence of harm, regardless of the subsequent delay or scrubbing of content.

A Precedent-Setting Case for the Global Game Industry

This lawsuit is being closely watched across the $Global Gaming Market, particularly in relation to $Intellectual Property Protection and the bounds of genre conventions. The court’s decision on the preliminary injunction will be a significant indicator of its view on the Horizon IP’s uniqueness and the extent to which a publisher can claim ownership over specific aesthetic and character combinations. If the injunction is granted, it could force Tencent to redesign significant portions of Light of Motiram, including its main character and promotional materials, effectively stalling the project until the full case concludes. A hearing on the matter is currently requested for late November 2025.

The gaming community remains divided, with some supporting Sony’s efforts to protect its billion-dollar franchise and others cautioning against stifling creative freedom by allowing a monopoly on post-apocalyptic, technologically advanced settings featuring female protagonists. Regardless of the outcome, this legal battle between two of the industry’s biggest players is set to define the standards for future international copyright and $trademark infringement disputes in video games.