- Sony and Tencent remain locked in a legal dispute over Light of Motiram.
- Court hearing rescheduled for January 29, 2026, with game promotion paused.
- Outcome could influence rules around creative overlap in the gaming industry.
Sony Interactive Entertainment has escalated its legal dispute with Tencent over the Light of Motiram game. The issue began in July, when Sony accused the Chinese publisher of violating copyright and trademarks and called for a preliminary injunction and trial. As a result, Tencent has suspended promotion and public testing of the game until a major court hearing, which is scheduled for early 2026.
Sony accused Tencent of "ripping off" important aspects from its popular Horizon series and intentionally misleading fans, causing numerous game lovers to confuse Light of Motiram as the next game in the Horizon series with encountering Tencent's promotional gameplay videos and social media accounts."
However, Tencent disputed Sony's assertions last month, claiming that the global entertainment powerhouse is not "fighting off piracy, plagiarism, or any genuine threat to intellectual property." Rather, Tencent argues that Light of Motiram employs well-established action-RPG patterns and that Sony has no exclusive claim to such wide genre components.
Sony vs. Tencent: Court Reschedules Hearing, Game Release Paused
According to the most recent court filing, dated December 1, 2025, both parties have agreed on a revised timeline. Tencent's response to Sony's preliminary injunction request is now required by December 17, 2025, while Sony's response is due by January 2, 2026. The joint hearing for the request to dismiss and the injunction has been rescheduled for January 29, 2026, instead of the previously anticipated mid-January date.
As part of this agreement, both parties agreed to a few more specified terms apart from halting marketing and related activities. During this period, Tencent cannot argue that Sony's injunction request was delayed due to the timeline extension. Also, it can’t shift the release of Light of Motiram earlier than Q4 2027, its initial launch date. As per the new ruling, with the terms in effect, Tencent will also not be able to request the court to expedite a speedy evidence collection.
The January hearing is now the deciding factor in whether the game will be released as scheduled or face more legal challenges. For both companies, the verdict could help define, as well as redefine, how far creative overlap can go in today's games industry. It could also help set a boundary between inspiration and infringement.
