Bad news Call of Duty grinders… it’s looking “very doubtful” Black Ops Cold War will bring back the popular Call of Duty prestige system last seen in Treyarch’s Black Ops 4 title in 2018, despite community backlash on its removal.
Call of Duty’s prestige system has become synonymous with the multi-billion dollar series since its introduction in the franchise’s fourth installment, Modern Warfare, all the way back in 2007.
Infinity Ward made the bold move to dump the system heading into the release of their 2019 title, however, and it looks like Treyarch will — for better or for worse, depending on who you ask — be following their lead in Black Ops Cold War.
According to Call of Duty insider TheMW2Ghost, sources are suggesting the prestige system is “likely not returning” for the 2019-20 release. Apparently, many of the ‘Blops 5’ devs are “in favour” of Modern Warfare’s season rankings instead.
OK. Just got word that "prestige is likely not returning" in #BlackOpsColdWar — this comes from one of our main sources who has given us a lot of stuff previously. Majority in favour of MW19's Season Rank system.
— MW2 OG (@TheMW2Ghost) September 3, 2020
This was backed up by Modern Warfare leaker ModernWarzone. He revealed it was looking “very doubtful” Cold War would bring back Prestige Mode in any capacity. He did add, however, that “plans change,” and things could still be swapped.
As of right now, it looks VERY doubtful that prestige mode is returning with #BlackOpsColdWar.
Plans change however, and we are still more than 2 months from release.
Remember, we were originally told “no dead silence” and since then it’s been confirmed to be a perk.
— ModernWarzone (@ModernWarzone) September 3, 2020
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Call of Duty’s Prestige Mode had become a staple of the franchise from 2007 until 2018; it has appeared in 12 mainline titles, as well as Modern Warfare’s remastered version in 2016.
The leveling system offered players the opportunity to reset your character progression once you hit max rank. This would reset all weapon and equipment unlocks, but hand the max-level player rare emblems and cosmetics.
Modern Warfare did away with this feature. Instead, the 2019 title saw players hit level 155 as ‘max cap,’ and reset players to level 55 during every season launch.
The Prestige system being removed has gone down like a lead balloon in much of the Call of Duty fandom. One fan, NerosCinema, said — albeit a little hyperbolically — they “literally don’t know a single person who prefers seasonal ranks over the proper prestige system.”
Another wrote Modern Warfare’s leveling was “way too low”. They added “rewards for hitting max rank suck” in the battle pass system Infinity Ward had implemented.
Only time will tell if Treyarch sticks to their guns on the decision, however. Black Ops Cold War will host its full multiplayer reveal on September 9. Expect to hear more about the future of Prestige Mode, or lack thereof, during that major unveiling.