Sony has responded to Tencent’s motion to dismiss in the Horizon clone lawsuit, calling it “nonsense” and accusing the company of playing a “shell game”.
For those unaware, Sony filed a lawsuit against Tencent earlier this year for allegedly copying their Horizon video game series in the latter’s Light of Motiram. Tencent defended itself last month and also filed a motion to dismiss. Now, Sony has responded to the defence, calling it an attempt to avoid liability by playing a shell game and saying it’s too late —the damage is already done.
Sony Says ‘The Damage is Done’ in Response to Tencent’s Defence
According to a report by TheGamePost, Sony filed a new 35-page document today, describing Tencent’s defence as ‘nonsense’. The statement first argues that “Tencent remarkably contends SIE’s claims are unripe” because, even though the developers have already announced and promoted the game, they have “delayed Light of Motiram’s release until 2027 after SIE sued.” The statement added, “This is nonsense. The damage is done—and it continues.”
Sony added that even after the community “expressed confusion and outrage” when Light of Motiram was discovered, “for the knock-off that it is, Tencent remained undeterred.” Sony says that the company continued promoting the game even after SIE’s objection and “refused to accept any responsibility over its conduct.”
Sony Accuses Tencent of Playing a Shell Game to Avoid Liability
The statement then discusses Tencent’s defence, in which they claim Sony has filed a lawsuit against the wrong entities. Sony stated that Tencent “attempted to avoid liability by playing a shell game with its brands and entities.” The statement continues,
“Tencent Holdings describes its own business as having a Games division that ‘own[s] Aurora Studios’—the Light of Motiram development studio. Tencent Holdings reports all of its revenue and debt from games on its annual report without attribution to any subsidiary. And it uses the name Tencent to advertise its games, like Light of Motiram—without distinguishing between subsidiaries.”
Sony Calls Light of Motiram a Blatant Knock-Off Game
Sony goes on to fire shots at Light of Motiram, calling it “a knock-off game so blatant that the public loudly decried the obvious and pervasive copying of Horizon’s protected elements—jeopardizes Horizon’s continued success, including current expansion plans for the franchise.” Sony also talks about how journalists have also described Tencent’s game as ‘a major Horizon rip off,’ ‘an obvious knock off,’ and a ‘copycat.’
They also accused Tencent of picking up elements from Aloy, stating that, numerous journalists and Horizon fans noted the striking similarities between the ALOY Character Mark and Tencent’s use of the Aloy lookalike, stating Tencent’s lookalike ‘resembles Aloy to a tee – red hair and all,’ ‘is dressed like Aloy with a similar assortment of frills,’ down to ‘her bow and the blue and orange ropes that decorate her body’ and that the ‘character design’ and ‘costume…very clearly just looks like Aloy.’
Tencent and Sony Met for a Potential Collaboration on The Last of Us
Another report by TheGamePost discusses Sony’s meeting with Tencent about a potential collaboration on The Last of Us. A statement by Olivier Courtemanche, Head of Mobile at PlayStation Studios, says they met with staff from Tencent’s gaming division and Aurora Studios a couple of times. The first few times were in the US, once during DICE in Las Vegas and the other during GDC 2024 in San Francisco.
During both meetings, a Horizon collaboration was discussed, during which Tencent’s gaming division pitched Project Z. Sony had rejected the idea, stating they didn’t want to license Horizon. Tencent also responded, saying they weren’t interested in working together unless it was for Horizon.
Then, a new meeting was scheduled for July 2024, during which Courtemanche visited China to meet with Tencent and Aurora Studios. Courtemanche’s statement reveals that his team “went into the meeting under the impression that they wanted to do a potential collaboration for The Last of U.” However, it didn’t turn out to be what they expected, as Aurora ended up presenting the same Project Z that had been discussed earlier.
In other news, PlayStation Plus Game Catalog has added eight new games in October. What are your thoughts on Sony’s response to Tencent’s defence in the Horizon clone lawsuit? Let us know through the official Insider Gaming forums discussion.
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