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 is precisely this point that has led regulators to consider the deal in question with due diligence.

Sony has made a special submission to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) presenting several arguments as to why the acquisition would harm competition in the sector, with most of the arguments highlighting COD and the chain's 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" creating a "Call of Duty competitor," it still "wouldn't work." Compared to this massive title, the company cited Battlefield as an example.

Even assuming SIE has 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 suggests there has been much effort, but no success.

We know Battlefield isn't just small, it's also popular with players and retailers, but there's no denying that EA's franchise isn't nearly as successful as COD. Recent weeks have proven that the competition is truly fierce, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 generating $1 billion in revenue within 10 days of its release and Warzone 2.0 accumulating 25 million players in just five days.

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