I don’t think that is an accurate reading of what he is expressing. Crate (his company) is a smallish indie studio that makes high quality games (in my opinion) and supports them long term with both paid DLCs and free updates.
He made that statement when talking about Embracer Group that was looking to buy Crate. When he told them “we are currently working on an RTS” they said “Why don’t you make something multi platform and a different genre instead?” (i.e. a cashgrab) to which his reply was “you can’t buy my company, fuck off”.
RTS are inherently limited to PC. RTS are not popular as eSports anymore. His company is making one not because they want a short term profit, but because he thinks they could make a great one for a niche target group that will stay loyal for a long time (e.g. their 2016 game Grim Dawn just got a massive free content update and a new story DLC in February this year).
I cant speak to CoD specifically, but being able to locate opponents, shots, activity etc by sound is a massive advantage in many multiplayer shooters. I can personally vouch for its relevance in CS, Apex Legends, Arma 2&3, The Finals, DayZ, and Battlefield.
For your viewing pleasure I leave you with this Viva La Dirt League skit: https://youtu.be/sC8qtyGoGZw