Light of Motiram steps back from the spotlight while Sony and Tencent continue their legal battle.
Tencent will temporarily halt marketing for Light of Motiram following Sony’s accusation that the game is a “slavish clone” of Horizon, keeping all promotion on hold as both companies move into the next phase of their legal process.
Promotion freeze confirmed in updated filings
Light of Motiram, the open world survival project developed by Tencent subsidiary Polaris Quest, was first shown last year and quickly drew comparisons to Horizon Zero Dawn. Players pointed to its animal like machines, environmental design and overall premise, while Sony escalated the issue by filing a lawsuit in late July, and calling the game a “slavish clone”.
Tencent rejected the allegation, stating that Sony’s action is “an improper attempt to fence off a well trodden corner of popular culture and declare it Sony’s exclusive domain,” and adding that “fame does not create a trademark; to qualify as a trademark, a mark must serve as a source identifier for a particular good or service.
However, only a few days after the lawsuit, Tencent scrubbed Horizon Zero Dawn-like resemblances from the game's promotional trailer and visuals.
A newly filed stipulation and proposed order, highlighted by The Game Post, outlines the temporary limits placed on Light of Motiram while the court considers Sony’s request for a preliminary injunction. Tencent agreed that “there will be no new promotion or public testing of Light of Motiram during the pendency of the Motion for Preliminary Injunction”. The document also confirms that “the Light of Motiram release will not be moved up to before Q4 2027,” keeping the earliest potential launch window unchanged.
Sony’s preliminary injunction request, lodged in October, seeks to prevent Tencent “from reproducing, preparing derivative works of, displaying, performing, and distributing any works copied or derived from SIE’s Horizon Works, including Light of Motiram, and from using the ALOY Character Mark or any confusingly similar mark pending trial.”
A supporting declaration from Tencent’s attorney lays out revised deadlines for both sides. “The Parties request that Defendants' deadline to file their response to the Motion for Preliminary Injunction shall be December 17, 2025 and that SIE's deadline to file it Reply in Support of the Motion for Preliminary Injunction shall be January 2, 2026.”
Both parties have also jointly requested to move the hearing date on the Motion to Dismiss and the Motion for Preliminary Injunction from 15 January 2026 to 29 January 2026, subject to the court’s availability.
With the updated schedule in place, Light of Motiram will remain quiet for the foreseeable future. No new trailers, previews or public tests are expected until the court reviews the motions early next year.
