New Tencent game accused of “ripping off” Sony’s Horizon series

On November 29, 2024By Littum

A new game from Tencent has been accused of “ripping off” Sony’s Horizon video game series.

Light of Motiram, from Shanghai-based Tencent subsidiary Polaris Quest, is described as an open-world multiplayer survival game “where nature meets machine.”

It’s the kind of generic gameplay description you’ll find on any Steam page, but it’s what Light of Motiram looks like that’s got tongues wagging online. From the teaser videos and screenshots below, we can see a striking resemblance to Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, complete with robot animals and a female character wielding a bow and arrow, all in what looks like a familiar post- apocalyptic setting and art style.

“Rebuild a new civilization and battle, befriend, and raise various mechs alone or with friends in a vast hostile world,” Light of Motiram’s description continues.

Horizon isn’t the only game Light of Motiram is being compared to. Given its base-building, survival mechanics, and resource-gathering gameplay, as well as the ability to tame “mechanisms,” many point to similarities to Pocketpair’s smash hit Palworld, which itself was accused of “ripping off” Pokémon. Nintendo and The Pokémon Company eventually filed a lawsuit against Pocketpair, accusing the company of patent infringement, a lawsuit Pocketpair has vowed to fight.

“Can I be the first to say it???” said a Steam user. “hahahh I mean it’s obvious right? I don’t need to say it. This is Palworld again.”

“I honestly think this is far more blatant than even Palworld,” said another. “Horizon 3 – Let’s Go!” said one X / Twitter user. “Disgusting rip-off,” added another.

Light of Motiram is also being compared to Capcom’s Monster Hunter and a number of other games that have similar aesthetics and gameplay mechanics. The inevitable question facing Sony and Tencent now is whether the PlayStation maker will take on Light of Motiram. Guerrilla is of course working on a multiplayer, live-service Horizon game that you wouldn’t be surprised to see look similar to Light of Motiram when Sony eventually makes its announcement. In that context, Sony probably won’t look too kindly on what Tencent is doing here.

For now, Light of Motiram will be released on PC and mobile sometime in 2025. It will be free to play and can be played alone or with up to nine other friends per game. server, with full crossplay enabled.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].

Light of Motiram screenshots