Whether Call of Duty becomes an Xbox exclusive now or later, Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been a sticking point for Sony, and it's precisely that point that has led regulators to give the deal in question due diligence.

Sony has made a special statement to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) setting out several arguments as to why the acquisition would harm competition in the sector, with most of the arguments highlighting the COD and supply chain position.

The crux of Sony’s argument on this particular front is that even if the first-party PlayStation could spend “many, many years and billions of dollars” to create a “Call of Duty competitor,” it still “wouldn’t work.” Compared to this massive title, the company cited Battlefield as an example.

Even assuming that SIE had the capacity and resources to develop a successful franchise like Call of Duty, it would take many years and billions of dollars to create a Call of Duty competitor. One example is Battlefield, which indicates that there has been much effort, but no success.

We know that Battlefield is not only small but also popular among gamers and retailers, but there's no denying that EA's franchise doesn't enjoy nearly the same kind of success that COD sees. The past few weeks have proven that the competition is indeed tough, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 generating $1 billion in revenue within 10 days of release and Warzone 2.0 racking up 25 million players in 5 days.

Notably, it was recently announced that Microsoft was willing to commit to a 10-year deal with Sony to keep the title on PlayStation platforms.