Motiram and Horizon’s Parallels Resemble Palworld’s Clear Nod to Pokemon

Hey there, gaming enthusiasts! You won’t believe this – another rip-off has made its way into the gaming world, and it’s almost begging for a legal showdown. Tencent Games, along with their team at Polaris Quest, just dropped Light of Motiram. It’s a cleverly ‘legally distinct’ spin on the Horizon series from PlayStation. The twist? This one’s charting its course as an MMO exclusive for PC, at least for now.

This announcement kind of blindsided everyone with a jam-packed press release (shoutout to Gematsu for the heads-up), bringing along a slew of trailers, screenshots, and even a Steam page that’s already buzzing with details. Don’t worry if you’re an Epic Games Store loyalist—it’ll be there too. As for how much it’s going to cost, or if it’s riding the free-to-play wave, they’re still keeping us in the dark.

Meanwhile, the folks over at Palworld might catch a break from being in the spotlight because Light of Motiram seems poised to snatch some of that attention. I mean, with designs like those, it’s hard not to do a double-take. It almost feels inevitable that Sony will rally their legal team against Tencent with all the close similarities, from the aesthetics to the creature designs.

To see it for yourself, check out the teaser trailer below. It’s part of a growing collection of visuals already available:

Ready for a laugh? This whole shebang kicked off even before PlayStation has revealed their own online-only Horizon game. It’s a major move for PlayStation into live-service territory, which has been a bit of a puzzle for them lately. Not to shade Palworld, but its early success shows that players might not mind a familiar look—as long as the gameplay keeps them hooked. If Polaris Quest can nail that fun, engaging loop, this could pose a real challenge to PlayStation and Guerrilla’s plans, stirring up more than just a few legal concerns.

Light of Motiram is set to dive into the lucrative survival and crafting segment, with combat elements that echo the dynamic, cooperative play style of Monster Hunter—a sensible choice for adapting Horizon-style battles into multiplayer modes. Honestly, Guerrilla might be planning something similar for their long-anticipated Horizon project.

Here’s a snapshot to give you a taste of what’s coming:

Caption: Nope, that’s not Horizon. (Image credit: POLARIS QUEST)

As if Horizon’s journey wasn’t bumpy enough already. Sony seems pretty committed to making it their flagship series, despite enthusiasm dwindling after the initial release flurry. It’s been up against stiff competition time and again, and the sales numbers for Lego Horizon Adventures didn’t exactly break records, at least on the PC front.

The live-action Horizon series over at Netflix isn’t faring well either. The project is currently shelved, with PlayStation Studios and Netflix hitting pause after reports surfaced about showrunner Steve Blackman (you might know him from his work on Umbrella Academy) and his reportedly toxic work environment. Ouch.