Sony‘s PlayStation is suing China-based video game giant Tencent over copyright and trademark infringement regarding the former’s “Horizon” franchise.
Per a lawsuit filed July 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Sony Interactive Entertainment is alleging Tencent’s upcoming game “Light of Motiram” is a “slavish clone” of the “Horizon Zero Dawn” and “Horizon Forbidden West” video games.
PlayStation says its seeking to “to prevent the imminent release of ‘Light of Motiram’ — a slavish clone of SIE’s immensely popular, award-winning Horizon series of video games. Tencent’s copying of Horizon
is so blatant that the public has described it as ‘crazy,’ ‘insane,’ and ‘shameless.’ Tencent also used its rip-off of the iconic Horizon main character ‘Aloy’ as the centerpiece of its pre-release marketing and promotional strategy, deliberately causing numerous game lovers to confuse ‘Light of Motiram’ as the next game in the ‘Horizon’ series when encountering Tencent’s promotional game play videos and social media accounts.”
The lawsuit requests statutory damages of $150,000 for each separate work in the “Horizon” franchise infringed or of “SIE’s actual damages sustained as a result of Defendants’ acts of copyright infringement,” as well as other monetary damages.
Representatives for both PlayStation and Tencent did not immediately respond to request for comment Monday.
Tencent has not yet set a release date for “Light of Motiram,” which it describes as follows: “In a world overrun by colossal machines, explore the vast open world, build your base of operations, advance technology, train Mechanimals, and take on formidable bosses. Starting from the primitive age, forge a new path of development. Defy the machination, survive with mechanimals.”
For comparison, here is PlayStation’s description for 2017’s “Horizon Zero Dawn,” the first game in its “Horizon” series: “In a far future where colossal machines roam and rule the Earth, pockets of humanity survive in unique tribes among the lush, overgrown ruins of our long-lost civilization. Take up bow and spear as Aloy, a young machine hunter and outcast of her tribe, as she discovers her origins, the truth of this mysterious world, and her own destiny to save it from impending doom. “
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