Xbox v PlayStation: Giants clash over Call of Duty

Xbox owner Microsoft has hit back at claims its plan to buy the maker of Call of Duty may unfairly affect its rivals, including Sony, which owns PlayStation,

Microsoft wants to buy Activision Blizzard, which also makes Overwatch and Candy Crush, for $68.7bn (£59.2bn).

The UK watchdog looking into the plan has said Microsoft could use Activision games to "out-compete" its rivals.

Microsoft said it still hoped the deal would be closed by June 2023.

Competition regulators in Saudi Arabia and Brazil have already approved it.

But last month, the Competition and Markets Authority announced it would be asking an independent panel to look into the proposal.

Activision Blizzard is one of the world's largest video game developers and publishers.

And the CMA suggested buying it could allow Microsoft to monopolise top games such as Call of Duty by making them available primarily on Xbox consoles, PCs and Game Pass, its cloud gaming service.

Microsoft has committed to keeping Activision's existing titles, including Call of Duty, available on the PlayStation.

But future titles could be treated differently.

Microsoft already owns 23 games makers, including Minecraft maker Mojang, and Fallout and SkyRim creator Bethesda.

And Bethesda's upcoming Starfield game will be an Xbox and PC exclusive.

And, In a report seen by BBC News, Microsoft calls the CMA's the concerns "a novel theory of harm, unsupported by precedent, economic literature or the evidence".

BBC News has asked Sony for comment.