Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 sees Prestige return — but with a new twist

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 screenshots highlighting omnimovement and intelligent movement technology for multiplayer.
(Image credit: Activision)

What you need to know

  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will bring back the classic Prestige system from previous games but tweaked to fit the new battle pass and seasonal model.
  • Players are no longer locked to their seasonally allotted level progression with Black Ops 6, and they will now be able to prestige again while working towards 1000 on the Battle Pass to unlock rewards.

Good news for the nostalgia-inclined fans of Call of Duty: in a recent interview with Treyarch Studios, our Cole Martin asked about hot community topics including the prestige system, which is returning to a more classic format.

Prestige is a system within Call of Duty that lets players experience progress on their character after reaching the maximum rank. Players can choose to reset their character to 1 and start the grind again, with a prestige badge to show their prowess. While this was traditionally a way to reward players for playing the game long after launch, it's lost its value somewhat in a new landscape of Battle Passes and Seasonal content to meet that need. 

“You can’t just bring back the old system. It’s like, how can you morph it?”

In bringing back prestige from the older Call of Duty titles, Treyarch has switched how it works to better align with the current 'games as a service' model. Players are no longer locked to their seasonally allotted level progression with Black Ops 6, and they will now be able to prestige again while working towards level 1000.

Players will progress from levels 1-55, at which point Classic Prestige will allow them to dump their progress, relock everything, and start all over again with a shiny new badge of honor. As a player, you will choose whether to Prestige or not, and if you do choose to do so you will be given a Prestige token to unlock 1 item permanently for your loadout. There are 10 Prestige levels in total, ending with a Prestige Master level at player level 1000. The unique unlocks and rewards for hitting this will be available in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on day one; you don't need to wait until the following season. 

Read the full exclusive interview for more

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 screenshots highlighting omnimovement and intelligent movement technology for multiplayer.

(Image credit: Activision)

In the exclusive interview with Treyarch, Cole uncovered more details on what's to come in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, from new 'omnimovement' systems to new accessibility features and the reasons behind the omission of theatre mode in last-generation consoles. Don't forget, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launches on October 25, 2024 but will available day one on Xbox Game Pass for Ultimate subscribers.  

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Trust no one as you step into the elite world of Black Ops. With 16 new multiplayer maps, the return of round-based zombies, and a thrilling action campaign, COD Black Ops 6 will be the blockbuster of 2024 that you won't want to miss. Preorder now for Open Beta access, the Woods operator bundle, and the Reflect 115 camo pack. 

Buy for Xbox: $68.39 at CDKeys | $69.99 at Walmart | $69.99 at Best Buy | $69.99 at Amazon
Buy for PlayStation: $69.99 at Walmart | $69.99 at Best Buy | $69.99 at Amazon
Buy for PC: $69.99 at Steam | $69.99 at Microsoft Store

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Jennifer Young

Jen is a News Writer for Windows Central, focused on all things gaming and Microsoft. Anything slaying monsters with magical weapons will get a thumbs up such as Dark Souls, Dragon Age, Diablo, and Monster Hunter. When not playing games, she'll be watching a horror or trash reality TV show, she hasn't decided which of those categories the Kardashians fit into. You can follow Jen on Twitter @Jenbox360 for more Diablo fangirling and general moaning about British weather.