Activision has announced the return of its Race to Prestige competition to celebrate the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.
Teams from across the world will battle it out to become the first in the world to reach Prestige Master in the latest instalment of Activision’s first-person shooter franchise.
Revealed on November 13th, 2025, 25 teams are attempting to reach Level 1000 in Black Ops 7 multiplayer as fast as possible. Call of Duty’s social media channels are keeping track of the participating teams with daily updates, recording their progress.
The Race to Prestige initiative typically marks the launch of a new Call of Duty title, with fans loading into the latest instalment to climb the ladder and reach the title’s highest accolade.
For Black Ops 7, there are a total of ten Prestige levels to complete before players begin the climb to Prestige Master.
Black Ops 7 is a direct sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, released in 2012. Treyarch’s latest release features several callbacks to Black Ops 2, a title that saw interest in Call of Duty esports skyrocket thanks to the addition of League Play and the first iteration of the CoDCaster tool.
Black Ops 7 Esports Plans
While the focus remains on the Race to Prestige, Black Ops 7 is set to be another significant year for the Call of Duty League (CDL) and the wider esports ecosystem.
October saw the franchise league unveil details on the locations hosting four Majors and the season-ending CDL Championship. For the first time in five years, the CDL returns to the UK as part of DreamHack Birmingham from March 27th to 29th, 2026.
Elsewhere, Black Ops 7 is among the first 20 titles appearing at the 2026 edition of the Esports World Cup. Taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the title will host a tournament outside of the CDL calendar.
