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The DeanBeat: Disney starts a cross-platform toy war with Activision

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 3 min

disney infinity

Toy war. It sounds like a title for a game or a movie. But it applies to the business competition between Disney and Activision Blizzard that erupted this week. You might call it the first major “transmedia” war between two heavyweight entertainment companies that are both deeply involved in video games. The winner will be able to stake out a leadership role in the cross-platform worlds of toys, video games, mobile apps, and online universes.

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Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.