Microsoft challenges Sony to make a Call of Duty competitor in ten years

If you think about the shooter genre ten years ago, the scene is painted in quite a different light than it is now.

Call of Duty: Ghosts was dividing opinions for fans of the franchise off the back of Black Ops 2's masterclass, Battlefield 4 led the charge on next-gen Xbox One and PS4 consoles (when it worked), and Bioshock Infinite was one of the biggest solo shooters around.

There was no Overwatch, Rainbow Six: Siege, or jet-pack Call of Duty games, and the battle royale genre hadn't existed to create H1Z1, Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Warzone.

So if the space could change so significantly in the last ten years, why can't Sony develop a new game in that time while Microsoft hones Call of Duty?

Microsoft challenges Sony to make a Call of Duty competitor in ten years

That's the question Microsoft is asking, as the company's legal battle to acquire Call of Duty publisher Activision-Blizzard rumbles on. Microsoft is suggesting Sony builds its own competitor to CoD, all while enjoying the franchise on its platforms for another ten years.

In the latest document provided by Microsoft in response to the UK CMA's investigations, the tech giant has claimed that the proposed ten-year deal to Sony for Call of Duty is more than sufficient, as they could easily create a competitor within that time.

"Microsoft considers that a period of 10 years is sufficient for Sony, as a leading publisher and console platform, to develop alternatives to Call of Duty," reads the report.

With a multitude of other FPS titles in the works too, like the divisive Dr Disrespect game, Deadrop, the shooter genre will look completely different by the time the deal ends in 2033, so does Microsoft have a point?

Microsoft reiterates that Call of Duty will never be Xbox exclusive

With the CMA being one of the authorities set to rule on the Microsoft and Activision merger, the pair have continued to suggest Sony's fears of losing Call of Duty behind exclusivity are unwarranted, as they have no plans to ever make the franchise Xbox exclusive.

"Microsoft considers that having maintained CoD on PlayStation and grown its player base on Nintendo, GeForce Now, and other cloud gaming platforms for a decade, it will have no incentive, or indeed ability, to take CoD exclusive," the company said.

The only question now is which way the CMA will rule, with Sony suggesting similar promises were broken during Microsoft's Bethesda acquisition, too.