Tencent Hits Back at Sony's Copyright Claims, Alleging a Bid for Genre Dominance

Tencent has responded to Sony's copyright lawsuit over its upcoming game, Light of Motiram, denying claims that it is a copy of Sony's Horizon series. According to Tencent, Sony is trying to 'stake a claim' on familiar genre conventions, rather than fighting piracy or plagiarism. The lawsuit, filed in July, accused Tencent of 'ripping off' Horizon's lead character and causing confusion among gamers. However, Tencent claims that its game is simply using 'well-established' tropes that are not unique to Sony. The company also points out that the art director of Horizon Zero Dawn has acknowledged that the game's premise was inspired by an earlier title, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Tencent argues that Sony is trying to 'monopolize' genre conventions by suing over an unreleased game that uses common elements found in many other games, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Far Cry: Primal. The company has also dismissed Sony's claims that its representatives pitched a Horizon mobile game, stating that the wrong companies are being sued and that the game is not yet released.