Shares of Activision Blizzard Inc. rose more than 2% to $12.22 in early trades Tuesday after the videogame publisher announced a deal to bring its best-selling "Call of Duty" franchise to the Chinese market as an online, free-to-play game. In a statement, Activision said it has struck a multi-year deal with Tencent Holdings Ltd. to operate the game in that market. Revenues will be generated from in-game sales. The game will be known as "Call of Duty Online." Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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