Sony’s lawsuit over Horizon similarities has Mild of Motiram altering its Steam retailer, altering screenshots, artwork, and even its sport description.
Polaris Quest’s Mild of Motiram was first revealed in November 2024, and it didn’t take lengthy for individuals to note the similarities to Guerrilla’s Horizon video games. The reactions had been blunt; followers and media alike known as it a straight-up knock-off, pointing to the red-haired foremost character, the mechanical animal-like creatures, and its tribal, post-apocalyptic setting.
Quick ahead to final month, and Sony determined to take issues to court docket. In a lawsuit filed in California federal court docket, the corporate accused Tencent of making what it known as a “slavish clone” of its Horizon online game sequence.
Sony claims the sport’s artwork type, story beats, gameplay parts, and even the advertising and marketing are so shut that some gamers genuinely thought Mild of Motiram was the subsequent Horizon title.
What Simply Modified?
Right here’s the place issues get attention-grabbing. We’ve simply noticed that Tencent quietly up to date its Steam web page to tone down the Horizon vibes. Earlier immediately, the developer pushed a sequence of updates to the sport’s official Steam web page, the place it made a noticeable set of modifications to how the sport is introduced.
These tweaks embody rewriting the sport’s description, swapping out a number of screenshots, altering the important thing artwork, and including a launch window.
The unique (outdated) retailer description leaned closely into language that matched Horizon’s themes:
“In a world overrun by colossal machines, discover the huge open world, construct your base of operations, advance expertise, practice Mechanimals, and tackle formidable bosses. Ranging from the primitive age, forge a brand new path of improvement. Defy the machination, survive with mechanimals.“
That textual content has now been changed with one thing far more generic and survival-focused, avoiding direct references to “colossal machines” or “Mechanimals”:
“Make sensible use of every thing round you to remain alive and face off in opposition to formidable bosses, each step is fraught with hazard and requires braveness. Solely by overcoming the challenges of survival are you able to carve out a spot for your self on this unforgiving land.“
A number of photos that beforehand showcased sweeping landscapes, robotic creatures, and environments harking back to Horizon have been eliminated. The up to date set options extra normal open-world survival imagery that doesn’t lean as closely into the sci-fi tribal-tech aesthetic.
Take a look at the outdated and new photos under. (outdated – left, new – proper)
The principle promotional picture has additionally been swapped. The outdated model prominently featured the red-haired protagonist whose look drew comparisons to Horizon’s Aloy. The brand new art work as a substitute spotlights two in-game creatures: a penguin-like animal and a dog-like companion, shifting focus away from the human character solely.
The sport’s launch window has been up to date from “To Be Introduced” to This autumn 2027, marking the primary time a particular timeframe has been listed for the challenge. Other than these current modifications, SteamDB data point out that a number of movies tied to the shop web page have been eliminated in current days.
All of those updates level to a transparent try to maneuver Mild of Motiram away from its Horizon-like presentation, a minimum of in its public advertising and marketing supplies.
Take a look at the important thing artwork modifications under. (prime is outdated, backside is new)
Proper now, there haven’t been any large developments within the lawsuit itself. Sony’s criticism nonetheless stands, and Tencent hasn’t made a public assertion.
What do you assume? Do these modifications really feel like actual harm management, or only a sensible advertising and marketing transfer? Tell us within the feedback under!
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