I can see both sides of this. I don’t think Call of Duty potential exclusivity is enough, as this practice has gone on for years from both Microsoft and Sony, but I would prefer more independence in gaming overall. I think we’ve all seen the consolidation of video games from many companies down to only a few large publishers that own most developers.
I’m not staying any right or wrong on either side but it is indicative of the larger business environment where fewer large corporations own most companies, including media, leaving less true business owners.
That’s capitalism. If I were a small dev with a successful game I would certainly be tempted by millions of guaranteed dollars from a larger buyer, cementing my and my families wealth for potentially generations, and of course with Activision and Bethesda before them, a lot of people made life changing money overnight.