Modern Warfare 2 fans slam return of “meaningless” Seasonal Prestige system

Nathan Warby
Modern Warfare 2 Ghost Operator

More and more Modern Warfare 2 details are emerging ahead of the game’s launch, but fans have hit out at the developers after they announced that the controversial Seasonal Prestige system is returning once again.

Modern Warfare 2 is almost here, and Activision have begun pulling back the curtain to reveal a number of crucial details about the game. They outlined the plans for Season 1 and beyond, including two legendary maps, as well as announcing when the new Raids will arrive in Spec Ops.

However, not all of the announcements have been as well received, with fans slamming the developers over the return of the Seasonal Prestige system introduced in recent years.

In the Modern Warfare 2 release blog, the devs announced that Season 1 “will feature a new Battle Pass system and Seasonal Prestige,” meaning the game will adopt the same style of progression as every entry since Modern Warfare 2019.

Prior to 2019, the Prestige system gave players the opportunity to completely reset all of their ranks and unlocks to start from scratch once they reached the maximum level, in exchange for a new emblem to show off.

But with the launch of Warzone and the introduction of in-game seasons, once players reach the maximum Military Rank they enter Prestige Ranks to earn extra rewards. These are then reset at the beginning of each new season, but all unlocks from the Military Ranks remain.

Parts of the community have been calling for a return of the old Presitge setup ever since, arguing that it makes progression less rewarding. Following the news that Modern Warfare 2 will adopt the same model, players on Reddit have expressed their anger.

“F*****g complete b******t, why make leveling up pointless yet again?” said one angry reply. “Why make double XP pointless if they’re trying to sell it?”

“Well, that’s a hype killer. I really loved the traditional Prestige system with an unlock token each time. Was really hoping to see it back,” said another.

Other replies argued that automatically dropping players back to level 1 at the start of the season could stop them from coming back to the game long-term.

“Making progression and XP meaningless past level 55 is a great way to hold people’s interest for that long,” said one user sarcastically. “Expected, but a huge disappointment. I will not be playing this game for two years like they want us to lol,” replied another.

Many added that Seasonal Prestige could work if players were also given an account level that others couldn’t see, similar to Fortnite.

It’s been heavily rumored that Modern Warfare 2 will have a two-year lifespan instead of the usual one. So, the devs have plenty of time to tweak the progression system and make it more satisfying for the community.


For more on Modern Warfare 2, check out all of the details on the single-player campaign, and how to get free Twitch drops.

Image credits: Activision

About The Author

Nathan is a Senior Writer at CharlieIntel. He’s an expert in EA Sports FC, Call of Duty, and Overwatch, as well as superhero games, including Marvel’s Spider-Man. With a master's degree in Magazine Journalism from Nottingham Trent University, he worked as a Trainee Reporter for Derbyshire Live before moving into games media, with bylines at Dexerto, Cultured Vultures, and more. You can contact Nathan by email at [email protected].