Just like with almost every Call of Duty game ever, in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer component, you earn XP from every match you play. The better you play, the more XP you earn. But you still earn a little bit of XP just for showing up and getting shot repeatedly by everybody else. As you earn XP you level up, or Rank up as the game calls it, and each Rank unlocks at least one new feature or item. This can be for example, a class, a field upgrade, a weapon, or a killstreak. And the gaps between Rank increase as you go up. So, while it only takes 3,000 XP to get from Rank 1 to Rank 2, it takes 34,900 XP to get from Rank 54 to Rank 55.
Related: Does Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 have Warzone support? Answered
What is the highest Rank in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer?
The highest Rank in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer is Rank 55, so the level cap is 55. It takes a total of 924,100 XP to reach Rank 55, at which point you unlock the mighty Juggernaut killstreak. While Rank 55 is the highest Rank, it’s not strictly speaking a level cap. This is because Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has the same Prestige mode as most previous games in the Call of Duty series. So, when you reach Rank 55, you have the option to throw away everything you’ve unlocked up to that point, and start again from Rank 1 on Prestige mode.
Prestige Ranks are seasonal in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which means that the level cap for Prestige Ranks in each season is Prestige 3 Rank. So, to reach Prestige 3 Rank, you have to get from Rank 1 to Rank 55 three times in one season. At the end of the season, all Prestige Ranks reset, and you can do it all over again. It’s a huge challenge, but there are various cosmetic unlockables that can only be unlocked by rising through the Prestige Ranks.
