In latest attempt to break Gatorade's lock on the sports market, Coca-Cola (KO) announced it is buying a stake in BodyArmor, the sports drink startup backed by Kobe Bryant and other athletes. Commenting on the news, Evercore ISI analyst Robert Ottenstein told investors that it views Coca-Cola's stake in BodyArmor as a "clear positive" for the beverage giant and a "clear negative" for Gatorade's owner PepsiCo (PEP) and Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP). MINORITY STAKE IN BODYARMOR: This morning, Coca-Cola and BodyArmor announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement through which the former will acquire a minority ownership stake in the latter. Under the agreement, BodyArmor will have the opportunity to gain access to the expansive Coca-Cola bottling system, enabling the fast-growing brand to accelerate its growth to meet consumer demand for its premium line of sports performance and hydration drinks. The initial investment is uniquely structured to create value for both companies and allow Coca-Cola to increase its ownership stake in the future under defined terms. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The BodyArmor investment will be part of the Coca-Cola North America Venturing and Emerging Brands investment portfolio. The brand will continue to operate independently with the same entrepreneurial spirit that has made it so successful under the leadership of co-founder and Chairman Mike Repole and his BodyArmor management team. Through the transaction, Coca-Cola will become the second largest shareowner in BodyArmor, behind Repole. 'CLEAR NEGATIVE' FOR PEPSICO, KEURIG DR PEPPER: In a research note to investors, Evercore ISI's Ottenstein said he sees Coca-Cola's stake in BodyArmor as a "clear positive" for the beverage giant and its global bottling system and a "clear negative" for PepsiCo, whose market-leading Gatorade product is most at risk, and for Keurig Dr Pepper. BodyArmor was one of the latter's most important Allied Brands and while Keurig Dr Pepper retains its 12.5% share for now, it loses distribution of the product and any path to ownership it may have enjoyed, the analyst added. Ottenstein argued that with eventual ownership, the Coke System will have the potential to deploy the "classic sandwich" on Gatorade, with Body Amour priced above it and Powerade somewhat below. PRICE ACTION: In afternoon trading, shares of Coca-Cola are up fractionally to $45.94, while PepsiCo's stock is down fractionally to $112.84. Shares of Keurig Dr Pepper are also slipping to $23.66.

Welcome to "Game On," The Fly's weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks. NEW RELEASES: This week's major release is "World of Warcraft: Battle For Azeroth," the latest expansion to Activision Blizzard's (ATVI) immensely popular online role playing game that first launched in 2004. The expansion is available today on PC. SODERLUND LEAVES EA: Electronic Arts (EA) said today that chief design officer Patrick Soderlund has opted to leave the company. The game maker said on the matter that Soderlund has been "an agent of change and transformation." Kotaku's Jason Schreier later reported that the executive will leave the publisher after receiving a $20M bonus that was granted in an attempt to get him to stay, adding that Soderlund made $48.3M last year. Prior to his position as chief design officer, Soderlund served as CEO of DICE, the developer behind the "Battlefield" and recent "Star Wars Battlefront" series, Kotaku noted. 'FORTNITE' MALWARE RISK: The Guardian reported last week that players of Epic Games' "Fortnite" on Android phones are at risk of becoming victims of malware infections. The risk comes after Epic's move to bypass Google's (GOOGL) Play Store in favor of publishing the game to its own website, the report said, citing security experts. The game is currently available on select Samsung (SSNLF) devices and will launch on other Android phones later, the Guardian noted. Epic Games is 40% owned by Tencent (TCEHY) and is part of Disney's (DIS) Accelerator Program. TENCENT TO REMOVE CAPCOM GAME: Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported yesterday that Chinese regulators have ordered Tencent to remove Capcom's (CCOEY) "Monster Hunter: World" from its PC downloads service. According to Bloomberg, parts of the game failed to meet regulatory standards, and the relevant authorities received a "significant amount of complaints." NINTENDO SWITCH ONLINE: Nintendo of America (NTDOY) said last Friday that the Switch's upcoming enhanced online service, known simply as Nintendo Switch Online, will launch in the second half of September. According to the company, the service will provide access to online play and Save Data Cloud backup in compatible games and a growing library of NES titles with added online play. The announcement came days after a Nintendo Direct outlining many of the new features in upcoming fighting game "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate," which will have online capabilities.