Microsoft’s Fight for Activision Looks to Gaming’s Cloud Future

Microsoft Corp.’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. has focused attention on the decades-old paradigm of console-exclusive games played on its Xbox and chief rival Sony Group Corp.’s PlayStation, but antitrust officials seeking to block the deal are potentially more concerned about the future of gaming in the cloud.

Cloud gaming is still in its infancy. Most video games, from Activision’s Call of Duty, to Elden Ring, developed by FromSoftware Inc., are purchased individually for about $70 each and downloaded onto a console or computer. But Microsoft, one of the leading cloud computing service providers, is seeking to ...