Last July, Sony decided to sue Tencent for copyright and trademark infringement against the Horizon franchise. Indeed, Light of Motiram appears to borrow heavily from the titles by Guerrilla Games.
Tencent made changes before accusing Sony of “abuse of power” by seeking to monopolize certain conventions established in the video game industry. The Chinese giant added that its Japanese counterpart could not be the sole owner of concepts reused in numerous productions.
This week, Sony chose to counterattack by reiterating its comments and accusing Tencent of trying to pull a fast one with its many subsidiaries. This was done in order to protect itself from liability in this case. What’s more, Light of Motiram being delayed until 2027 has also been called into question.
*”After SIE was forced to file a lawsuit, Tencent attempted to evade responsibility by playing a game of musical chairs with its brands and entities. Tencent attempted to shield the defendants it owns and/or controls from service of process and is now seeking to evade jurisdiction over the parent entity, Tencent Holdings. *
Tencent Holdings describes its own business as having a gaming division that “owns Aurora Studios” — the Light of Motiram development studio. In its annual report, Tencent Holdings reports its total gaming revenue and debt without attributing it to any subsidiary. It uses the Tencent name to advertise its games, such as Light of Motiram, without distinguishing between subsidiaries.
Tencent claims that SIE’s complaints are unfounded because, despite announcing and continuously promoting its game for months, Tencent (allegedly) delayed the release of Light of Motiram until 2027 after SIE filed a lawsuit. This is nonsense. The damage is done and continues.
Although the public expressed confusion and outrage upon discovering Light of Motiram for the counterfeit that it is, Tencent did not budge. Tencent continued to promote its deceptive game despite SIE’s objection, and refused to admit any responsibility for its behavior.”
Sony has requested that Tencent’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit be denied.
