Sony was interested in collaborating with a Chinese studio to develop a new installment of The Last of Us. PlayStation representatives expected a different format of partnership.
It turns out that there could have been a mobile version developed by a Chinese studio.
According to sources at The Game Post, in July 2024, Sony traveled to Shenzhen to meet with Aurora Studios, owned by Tencent. This is the same team that recently found itself at the center of a lawsuit over the game Light of Motiram, which is being called an illegal copy of Horizon.
Documents show that Sony initially wanted to discuss a mobile adaptation of The Last of Us. But during the visit to China, the company saw something completely different.
According to Olivier Courteманche, head of PlayStation Mobile (formerly Zynga), Aurora Studios again presented a version of Horizon instead of The Last of Us.
«The slide featured a female character in a costume resembling a mix of tribal clothing and metal armor, and next to her was a hybrid of an animal and a machine, similar to the mechanical creatures from Horizon. Looking through the materials for Light of Motiram, I realized that it was them. I was puzzled, as I thought we had come to discuss The Last of Us», Courteманche said.
Earlier, in April 2024, Sony rejected Aurora Studios' project with Aloy in an Asian setting and machines inspired by Chinese legends. A few months later, the company met with the developers again, hoping to discuss The Last of Us. But the meeting again turned into a demonstration of a project resembling Horizon.
