It doesn't really come as a huge surprise, but Call of Duty's overall popularity on PlayStation consoles is being used as an argument against Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The UK's Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA for short) has found that a seemingly significant number of consumers buy a PlayStation primarily for Call of Duty.
Through surveys (as reported by Christopher Dring), the CMA found that 88 per cent of users buy PlayStation due to the availability of one or more games. And of that 88%, a whopping 73% said Call of Duty was that game.
It's an interesting statistic, because Call of Duty is obviously a multiplatform release. However, Sony's had a marketing deal with the property for years now, which also secures exclusive content for the platform. It's clear that Call of Duty is now strongly associated with PlayStation — at least in the eyes of most consumers.
For some additional context, the survey also found that 69% of players opted for PlayStation because of exclusive titles (God of War Ragnarok and Horizon Forbidden West, etc.), while 45% did it for Grand Theft Auto V, specifically. On enthusiast websites like Push Square, it can be all too easy to forget just how much of a juggernaut Call of Duty is on the more casual market.
The CMA, of course, is one of the organisations that's currently arguing against Microsoft's buyout of Activision Blizzard. It recently stated that the acquisition could lead to an unfair advantage in the gaming space, resulting in negative consequences for gamers.