Tencent promises not to pull any shenanigans with its Horizon-like survival game while Sony's lawsuit works through the courts, unless and until a judge says it can

This might seem kind of ironic, given that you're reading about it right here on the front page of PC Gamer, but Tencent has promised that it will not do any new promotions or marketing for its Horizon-like survival game Light of Motiram, nor will it move up the release window for the currently planned Q4 2027, until a judge has decided on Sony's request for a preliminary injunction against the game.

The promise came in a filing made on December 1 (via The Game Post), the latest step in the legal tussle between Tencent and Sony. Sony filed suit against Tencent earlier this year over Light of Motiram, a game revealed in late 2024 that looked a lot like Horizon Zero Dawn; Sony took that characterization a step further in its lawsuit, calling Light of Motiram a "slavish clone" of the Horizon games.

Tencent responded by purging the most egregious Horizon-like content from Light of Motiram's Steam page and bumping the release date from late 2025 to Q4 2027—a massive two-year delay, suggesting that Tencent figured it was going to get hammered if it didn't dramatically overhaul the game.

It was probably a good bet.

Image 1 of 4

That didn't convince Sony to let off the gas, though, and in October it filed for a preliminary injunction against the use of any material "copied or derived" from the Horizon games in Light of Motiram. Sony also said it's "deeply skeptical" of the delayed release date, noting that the lawsuit will likely still be ongoing at the end of 2027—suggesting that without an injunction Tencent might just go ahead and push Light of Motiram out the door anyway, and then hope for the best.

Committing to no further public presence for Light of Motiram (aside from, you know, this) would presumably make an early release, or even one in the Q4 2027 window, less likely: Fair to say that Tencent probably isn't going to be eager to turn its big survival game investment loose on the public without any meaningful pre-release marketing.

But that promise also seems to point toward an out-of-court settlement in the making, as it comes as part of a joint filing in which lawyers for both sides agreed to give Tencent more time to file its response to Sony's request for an injunction, and then to subsequently allow Sony more time to file its own reply in support of the request.

As legal maneuvers go, this isn't exactly up there with "Did you order the code red?" but it does seem that wheels are turning. At this point I would not be at all surprised to see some kind of deal reached in the relatively near future—terms of settlement undisclosed, of course—and Light of Motiram drop as currently planned in the late '27 window, as a far more conventional, de-Horizoned survival game.

For now, though, the lawyers continue to throw hands: Under the newly agreed schedule, the hearing to determine the fate of Sony's request for a preliminary injunction will take place on January 29, 2026.

Best gaming rigs 2025

1. Best gaming laptop: Razer Blade 16

2. Best gaming PC: HP Omen 35L

3. Best handheld gaming PC: Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS ed.

4. Best mini PC: Minisforum AtomMan G7 PT

5. Best VR headset: Meta Quest 3

👉Check out our list of guides👈