Sony and Tencent Quietly Agree 'Confidential Settlement' as Horizon Zero Dawn 'Clone' Game Light of Motiram Disappears From Steam and Epic Games Store

Tencent's upcoming post-apocalyptic open-world escapade Light of Motiram, widely-criticized for being a "clone" of Horizon Zero Dawn, has disappeared from Steam and the Epic Games Store.

You whitethorn callback that Sony was suing Tencent implicit the project, which it had officially dubbed a "slavish" Horizon Zero Dawn copy, via a copyright suit filed successful a California tribunal astatine the extremity of July. Sony's statement outlined galore similarities and compared assorted selling screenshots from some games, arsenic good arsenic their descriptions.

Just similar Horizon, Light of Motiram takes spot successful a post-apocalyptic satellite overrun by elephantine robot dinosaurs who roam large, earthy environments specified arsenic tropical forests, deserts, and snowy mountains. Both games adjacent diagnostic red-haired women protagonists that deterioration precise akin outfits and styles, and devices akin to Aloy's "Focus" earpiece.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, Sony formally accused Tencent of processing a "knock-off game" and asked the tribunal for a preliminary injunction against Light of Motiram to halt the Chinese megacorp from commencing pre-release promotion of its upcoming version.

Just days aft Sony filed its lawsuit, Tencent softly updated its Light of Motiram Steam leafage and swapped retired a fig of screenshots, including its screen image, earlier responding to Sony's suit by claiming it was lone making usage of "well-trodden" tropes and suggesting the PlayStation maker's ain crippled was excessively akin to Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Indeed, Tencent deed backmost by describing Sony's suit arsenic an overreach, highlighting different crippled franchises with akin elements specified arsenic The Legend of Zelda and Far Cry. It was "startling," Tencent said, that Sony was present attempting to assertion Horizon's conception was original, alternatively than an thought based connected "ubiquitous genre ingredients."

The bitter conflict present seems to person travel to an end, however. As spotted by The Verge, caller tribunal papers filed yesterday, December 17, amusement some parties person reached a "confidential settlement" that appears to person ended Sony's lawsuit, and Tencent's counter-suit, too. All parties are reportedly liable for their ain fees and costs.

Without publically sharing the presumption of the deal, it's not imaginable to cognize however it each ended, though the disappearance of Light of Motiram is simply a reasonably important clue. The archetypal URLs to some storefronts present redirect to each site's respective landing pages, and there's been nary ceremonial update from Tencent connected the game's date. It seems improbable we'll spot it again, and astir surely not successful its contiguous form.

Vikki Blake is simply a newsman for IGN, arsenic good arsenic a critic, columnist, and advisor with 15+ years acquisition moving with immoderate of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's besides a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her astatine BlueSky.