Microsoft takeover of Call of Duty games firm wipes $20bn off Sony shares

$20bn (£14.7bn) has been wiped off the value of Sony after its rival Microsoft announced a record-breaking deal to buy the Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard and take the console wars into the metaverse.

Shares in the Japanese conglomerate closed down 13% on Wednesday, their biggest fall since the global financial crisis in 2008, as investors reacted to the possibility that the $70bn bid for Activision Blizzard could result in hit games being pulled from the Sony PlayStation console and subscription service and offered exclusively on the rival Microsoft Xbox.