Third- and first-person shooters account for 40% of PlayStation's total playtime

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Report claims that shooting games are hugely popular with PlayStation fans

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
(Image credit: Activision Blizzard)

Shooters make up almost half of PlayStation's global playtime, according to a recent report. 

Earlier this month, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority published its provisional findings concerning Microsoft's bid to acquire Activision Blizzard. As spotted by ResterEra user Idas, and shared on Twitter by Idle Sloth, the report reveals that shooters represent a significant share of the publishing market and account for a whopping 40% of PlayStation's playtime globally. 

When it comes to specific details and figures, much of the information within the report is redacted, but when discussing shooters' popularity on consoles, the morsel of info regarding PlayStation fans' affinity for the genre appears to have gone under the radar. 

"We note that two of Activision's main games on console, CoD and Overwatch, belong to the shooter genre," reads the report. "The shooter genre constitutes a significant share of the publishing market, particularly on consoles.

It continues, "Evidence submitted by third parties also indicates that shooter is an important game category on consoles. For example, data from [Redacted] indicates that shooters constituted [Redacted] of PlayStation's revenue and 40% of PlayStation's playtime globally."

Given that Call of Duty is one of the most popular shooters on the planet, it's not surprising that Sony isn't keen on Microsoft's plans to acquire Activision Blizzard. Sony claims that should the deal go through, it would have "major negative implications for gamers". It also supports the CMA's investigation, which has provisionally concluded that the acquisition deal "could result in higher prices, fewer choices, and less innovation."

While the future of Call of Duty on PlayStation is somewhat uncertain, Microsoft has signed a 10-year deal to put Call of Duty games on Nintendo Switch if its acquisition of Activision goes ahead.

From single-player shootouts to battle royale action, here are the best shooters to play right now.

Anne-Marie Ostler
Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.