July 13 (Reuters) - Sony Group will boost research and slot777 development spending at its gaming unit by about 10% to 300 billion yen ($2.2 billion) this financial year, the Nikkei reported on Thursday.

R&D spending at the games business behind the hit PlayStation 5 console will surpass R&D spending on electronics and semiconductors this year, the business daily said.

Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment but its gaming business has set out ambitious plans to invest in live-service games, which offer continuous updated play, and it also plans to offer more PC and mobile games.

Its stock was up 4% in Tokyo morning trade after a brokerage upgrade.

Rival Microsoft has turned to acquisitions to boost its subscription and cloud-based gaming services to better compete with market leader Sony.

On Wednesday the U.S.

Federal Trade Commission said it was appealing a federal judge's ruling that Microsoft could go forward with its $69 billion purchase of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard.

($1 = 138.3900 yen) (Reporting by Roushni Nair and Sam Nussey; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)