14 DAY TRIAL // Video game developer Infinity Ward has announced that the company and publisher Activision Blizzard have no plans to launch a Prestige Edition of the upcoming first person shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
The Prestige Edition for previous titles in the same franchise have come complete with such gizmos as night vision goggles and remote controlled cars.
The confirmation came from Robert Bowling, who is the chief creative strategist at Infinity Ward, who said in a message on Twitter that only a Hardened Edition will be on sale for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
It will be priced at 99 dollars and will come complete with a 12 month subscription to the new Elite service, which will track a number of player stats, will offer early access to all downloadable content and other perks.
The lack of a Prestige Edition will likely be a disappointment to a number of long term fans of the series, who will be annoyed that Activision has not managed to come up with a cool new gadget that they can show around as proof of their loyalty to the franchise.
It's not clear why the developer and the publisher axed the Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 3 but it might be linked to both the cost incurred to create it and to an attempt to lend a more serious image to the series.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be launched worldwide on November 8 of this year and will be playable on the PC, the Xbox 360 from Microsoft and the PlayStation 3 from Sony.
The game will offer a single player component which focuses on a conflict between the Western powers and Russia, with the player again traveling between the perspectives of different soldiers.
The multiplayer will offer the same structure based upon leveling up and a cooperative section is also being included.