While the “Chinese Horizon” never saw the light of day, Tencent lobbied hard to convince Sony to co-develop a game-as-a-service set in Asia—a pitch that ultimately led to the infamous Horizon clone. Tencent would have brought Horizon’s world to Asia, but even PlayStation’s rejection couldn’t stop the development of Light of Motiram. Tencent’s move infuriated Sony, as the dream of a clone was born in Asia, but PlayStation shut the door on the offer.

One of the most popular franchises of the past decade is Sony’s Horizon series. Even though there have only been two games and two expansions, companies like Tencent have drawn inspiration from its distinctive style. Last year, Light of Motiram was unveiled as an open-world action-survival game set in a post-apocalyptic landscape overrun by giant machines.

Tencent Wanted Its Own Horizon, But Sony Refused

The description of the game is almost identical to the Horizon series. This project caught the attention of PlayStation so much that Sony recently filed a lawsuit against Tencent for copyright infringement. Sony accuses Tencent of intentionally confusing players by copying several signature elements from the Horizon franchise. In the past few hours, new details about the Japanese company’s complaint have emerged.

According to newly surfaced court documents reported by Gamespot, Tencent officially pitched Sony on a Horizon mobile game for the Asian market with multiplayer and live service mechanics. The pitch, submitted by Tencent-owned Aurora Studio in March 2024, outlined Aloy being invited east and traveling to a distant kingdom, with new tribes inspired by ethnic minorities and mechanical creatures from Chinese mythology—like a robotic dragon.

Sony rejected the proposal because it didn’t fit their plans for the franchise but did praise the Aurora team’s passion and effort. Tencent, on the other hand, was determined to show that Horizon could succeed in eastern markets.

The proposed new Horizon game would have included survival mechanics, pet taming, and multiplayer, in line with the latest mobile and games-as-a-service trends. The situation became more complicated when Light of Motiram was ultimately revealed without the Asian elements Tencent wanted to bring to the franchise—something that caught Sony’s eye, even after the game was listed on the PlayStation Store.

The lawsuit alleges that Tencent failed to disclose it was already developing this project during negotiations. Sony now seeks financial damages and removal of any infringing material. Meanwhile, Light of Mortiram is still without a release date, but just days ago it was available to wishlist on Steam, Epic Games Store, mobile, and PS5. The game is intended to be free-to-play and planned for 2025, though the legal case may easily cause delays.

Light of Motiram is ultimately defined as a multiplayer survival adventure focused on base-building, taming mechanical creatures (Mechanicals), and up to 10-player cooperative combat. Unlike Horizon, it focuses on action and player interaction, letting players join and leave games without losing progress. Combat features dodging, blocking, and counterattacks, with mechs that can be customized for different roles. A 16-minute gameplay video is available to see the game in action.

Horizon Sales and Sony’s Plans for the Franchise

It may surprise you, but the Horizon franchise has sold over 38 million copies worldwide—not counting additional downloads via PS Plus or when Sony gave away Horizon Zero Dawn in 2021. The figures were shared by shinobi602, who claims they also appear in Sony’s lawsuit filings. The franchise is incredibly popular, and many fans want to know what’s next for Aloy.

After the Burning Shores expansion and Horizon Call of the Mountain VR release, Guerrilla’s plans for the future remain unclear. According to journalist Jason Schreier, Horizon 3 is “a long way off” since the Dutch studio is currently working on the rumored MMO. A Korean studio is also believed to be developing another Horizon multiplayer title, despite rumors of its cancellation earlier this year.

Even though Sony remains silent on the franchise’s future, two new projects launched last year: Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, which—though criticized as unnecessary—impressed critics with visual upgrades; and LEGO Horizon Adventures, which is fun but reportedly underperformed in sales despite launching on Switch. Finally, the Netflix Horizon series was canceled, but a Horizon movie from Columbia Pictures is now in production, telling Aloy’s origin story.

Source: 3djuegos