Tencent paused Light of Motiram ads — but Sony’s lawsuit is the real lever here

Why this pause matters more than a marketing hiccup

This caught my attention because pauses like this aren’t just PR theatre – they’re legal chess moves that reshape a game’s launch runway. Tencent has agreed to stop all public promotion and testing of Light of Motiram as part of a temporary deal with Sony ahead of a January 29, 2026 court hearing. On the surface it looks like a quieting tactic; underneath it’s the practical heart of a high-stakes intellectual property fight that could reshape how studios borrow from each other.

• Tencent paused marketing and public tests to gain breathing room before a Jan. 29, 2026 hearing.
• The company kept its Q4 2027 launch window but waived certain procedural requests to reach the deal.
• Sony’s suit accuses Polaris Quest’s Light of Motiram of copying Horizon’s protagonist, aesthetics, and mechanics.
• The outcome could change what counts as “too close” in game design and how studios defend themselves.

Breaking down the pause deal

According to the terms circulating, Tencent gets more time to respond to Sony’s motions if it immediately suspends all marketing, community tests, and public-facing trials for Light of Motiram. In return, Tencent left intact a Q4 2027 release window and gave up certain procedural requests – effectively trading legal leverage for runway. The next big milestone is the Jan. 29, 2026 preliminary injunction hearing before Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in the Northern District of California.

What gamers actually lose (and gain)

Losses are concrete. Pausing public testing means fewer betas and less developer feedback – the kind of incremental fixes and balance improvements community testing uncovers. For a new IP, that can blunt momentum and make the launch rougher. Marketing silence also kills hype cycles; pre-release engagement is how many multiplayer games find their early adopters.

But there’s a flip side. Tencent retaining the Q4 2027 window signals confidence — they didn’t agree to an outright development freeze. For players who were worried the game might be shelved or delayed into oblivion, that’s a small win. And if a court ultimately rejects Sony’s attempt at an injunction, Tencent walks back into public life with a clearer playbook.

The legal battlefield: trademarks, characters, and “slavish cloning”

Sony’s lawsuit argues Light of Motiram is essentially a Horizon clone: a tribal huntress protagonist, similar aesthetic, narrative beats, and gameplay systems. Tencent countered with a motion to dismiss, attacking both the jurisdiction (saying the right entities weren’t properly served) and the idea that a videogame character can function as a single, immutable trademark.

Tencent leaned on examples like Mickey Mouse trademarking to make the point that characters commonly have multiple registered appearances — and that visual evolution undercuts trademark claims. That’s a nuanced legal line: consumers might recognize a character without that recognition automatically meaning the character is a trademark identifying a single source.

Why now — and why this could set precedent

Why did Sony strike now? Big publishers are increasingly protective of their tentpoles as open-world design patterns and hero archetypes repeat across the industry. Bringing this case before Light of Motiram’s launch is strategic: an injunction could have silenced promotion, cooled community support, and forced design changes before release.

If Sony wins broad protection, other publishers may be emboldened to sue over thematic or mechanical resemblance rather than direct copying. If Tencent prevails, courts could draw a clearer line that prevents franchise owners from claiming exclusive rights over high-level ideas or genre conventions — a relief for indies and big studios alike who riff on established formulas.

What to watch next

Key things to monitor: discovery. Internal design docs, email threads, and prototype assets could be damning or exculpatory. Also watch whether the parties settle — these suits are expensive and messy; a licensing deal or cosmetic redesign is a common endgame. Finally, pay attention to whether Tencent resumes limited community tests before Q4 2027; any early relaunch of marketing will tell you how confident they feel about their legal position.

TL;DR

Tencent’s pause is tactical: it quiets the game while giving both sides time to prep for a Jan. 29, 2026 hearing. Gamers lose public betas and early hype, but the game keeps its launch window. The real story is legal — this case could redraw how courts treat character trademarks and where inspiration ends and infringement begins.