Call of Duty double XP weekend for Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2

For the first time in franchise history, two games under the Call of Duty banner--Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2--will be simultaneously allowing players to earn double the normal experience points this weekend. It's being billed as a celebration of the upcoming Modern Warfare 3's Prestige Shop, but it's safe to say that publisher Activision wouldn't be too upset if the move steals some thunder from a certain other rival war-based FPS that launched today.

In a video on the Modern Warfare 3 Facebook page, Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling explains that every time you prestige in MW3, you'll get a "prestige token" which can be used to unlock things like an extra custom class, or allow you to "choose one piece of gear from your custom class to keep unlocked from rank 1 of future prestiges."

As a side bonus--and one that ties directly into the coming double XP weekend--anyone who has prestiged in Modern Warfare, World at War, Modern Warfare 2, or Black Ops will receive associated day-one prestige tokens to spend in Modern Warfare 3 on launch day.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is due out for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on November 8.