Activision Blizzard reports quarterly bookings above estimates

(Reuters) – Videogame publisher Activision Blizzard on Wednesday reported first-quarter bookings of $1.86 billion, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $1.79 billion, according to Refinitiv.

Earlier in the day, Britain said it would block Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of the “Call of Duty” maker over its concerns it would hinder competition in cloud gaming, dealing an unexpected blow to the biggest-ever deal in gaming.

Microsoft has announced its decision to appeal the CMA’s ruling, and Activision Blizzard intends to fully support Microsoft’s efforts on this appeal, the videogame publisher said.

Activision’s shares fell about 10% in early trading.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Anil D’Silva)

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