Sony had expressed interest in collaborating with a Chinese studio to develop a new installment of The Last of Us. PlayStation representatives had expected a different type of partnership.
It emerged that a mobile version developed by the Chinese studio might have been part of the plan.
According to The Game Post, in July 2024 Sony traveled to Shenzhen to meet with Aurora Studios, a team owned by Tencent. That studio recently found itself at the center of a legal dispute over Light of Motiram, a game accused of being an unauthorized copy of Horizon.
Documents show Sony initially intended to discuss a mobile adaptation of The Last of Us. But during the visit to China, the company encountered something else entirely.
Olivier Courtemanche, head of PlayStation Mobile (formerly Zynga), said Aurora Studios once again presented a Horizon-like build instead of one for The Last of Us.
“On the slide there was a female character wearing an outfit that looked like a fusion of tribal garments and metal armor, and beside her a hybrid animal-machine resembling the mechanical creatures from Horizon. While going through the Light of Motiram materials, I realized it was their work. I was puzzled, because I thought we had come to discuss The Last of Us,” Courtemanche explained.
Earlier, in April 2024, Sony had rejected an Aurora Studios proposal that featured Ellie in an Asian setting with machines inspired by Chinese legends. Several months later Sony met with the developers again hoping to talk about The Last of Us — but the meeting once more became a presentation of a project reminiscent of Horizon.
Source: iXBT.games