Tencent Didn’t Learn Anything From These 5 Games’ Mistakes Before Making Light of Motiram

Tencent’s new game Light of Motiram is so visually similar to Sony’s Horizon Zero Dawn that one can easily get confused between the two. Even the cover image used for both games represents similar compositions and visual elements.

It looks like a copy. Tencent has no shame at all in even hiding it. It is showcasing it as if the world is completely unaware of the similarities between the two games. Horizon fans can very clearly see a lawsuit coming Tencent’s way soon. Studios copying other studios’ design elements is not a recent phenomenon but is something that has been going on for a while now. Here are 5 more lawsuits that follow along similar lines.

5. Tetris Holding LLC Vs Xio Interactive (2012)

Tetris Holding holds the copyright for the Tetris game and its gameplay elements since 1985. Xio Interactive came up with a game called Mino that reproduced the gameplay elements of Tetris. Mino had similar block shapes and visual layouts.

Tetris Holding got the upper hand since it was decided that Mino copied the expression of the game instead of just the idea. This led to Tetris Holding filing a lawsuit against Xio Interactive for copyright infringement.

4. Atari Vs Philips Electronics/Magnavox (1981)

Atari’s widely successful game Pac-Man inspired Philips’ K.C. Munchkin. However, Philips took the inspiration way too seriously and traced out the entire game’s essence. There was nothing new about K.C. Munchkin; it was just a rip-off of Pac-Man.

The game used similar maze navigation and pellet-eating mechanics. The ruling was in favor of Atari based on substantial similarities between the two games.

3. Blizzard Entertainment Vs Bossland GmbH (2017)

Blizzard Entertainment sued Bossland Gmbh for developing cheat software that altered the gameplay experience of Blizzard’s World of Warcraft. The cheating software hindered the experience of playing the game significantly.

The court ruled in favor of Blizzard, citing the harm Bossland GmbH’s software had caused it. Blizzard was paid $8.5 million in damages.

2. Bethesda VS Mojang (2012)

Bethesda, the mastermind behind The Elder Scrolls series, sued Mojang, the developer behind Minecraft, for naming its card game Scrolls. Bethesda argued that it sent a wrong impression on fans and made them confused about its ties with The Elder Scrolls.

Eventually, the case was settled outside of court, and Mojang agreed to not use the name for any future projects.

1. CapcomVS Koei Tecmo (2014)

Capcom accused Koei Tecmo of copying patents related to downloadable content in Samurai Warriors. The court eventually sided with Capcom, and it was later compensated for damages.

Getting inspired by something and building upon that inspiration is completely fine, but tracing over somebody else’s success is a direct indicator of lacking creativity. Tencent might soon appear in one such list after copying Horizon Zero Dawn quite blatantly.