MW3 and Warzone unlocks won't carry forward into Black Ops 6 as Activision drops "Carry Forward"

Activision has confirmed that weapon unlocks and progression from Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone won't carry over to Black Ops 6 as it drops the Carry Forward feature for this year's Call of Duty.

It appears that last year's iteration of the Modern Warfare series was a bit of a one-off as, for the first time in Call of Duty history, players were able to transfer their unlocked weapons, camos, and attachments to the newest version of the series.

With the reveal of Black Ops 6 as 2024's offering now firmly in the rearview mirror, players like myself were keen to know if our armoury would make the jump to another title once more. Sadly, that's not going to be the case.

Carry forward isn't a thing in Black Ops 6

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Written in a chunky blog post about preorder information for Black Ops 6, Activision has clarified why the feature won't be present for this year’s game. "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Modern Warfare III content will not carry forward to the Black Ops 6 Premium experience."

This includes all weapons, camos, attachments, and even Operator skins you might have purchased or unlocked in the last two years of playing MW2, MW3, or Warzone.

Activision explains that Black Ops 6 is going for an authentic replication of the Gulf War period, set in the 1990s. As the name implies, much of the weaponry in Modern Warfare 2 and 3 are from the present day, which heavily conflicts with the theme of Treyarch's latest addition to the series.

"Allowing everyone to experience the Black Ops universe the way it’s meant to be played, learning the era-specific weapons and gear, learning the gameplay innovations like Omnimovement, and keeping that signature Black Ops style is important," the blog post reads.

The only exception to this is the Woods Operator Pack, which is a pre-order benefit for purchasing Black Ops 6 early. It rewards you with a few variations of the character Woods to use in Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone right now - and they'll carry over to Black Ops 6 when it launches, too.

While I'll certainly be sad to lose my Snoop Dogg and Lillith skins in Black Ops 6 multiplayer, I'm looking forward to a fresh start. It was great to have a litany of options to choose from when picking weapons in Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer, but the game is starting to feel a little bloated with the sheer choice that's presented in the loadout menu. At some point, it all has to become a balancing nightmare for the development team, too.

What about Warzone?

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It's not all bad news, though. While MW2 and MW3 content won't carry over into the Black Ops 6 multiplayer experience, it will remain a part of Warzone for the foreseeable future. Activision explains that Black Ops 6 weapons will be integrated into the free-to-play game when Season 1 arrives, adding to the pool of existing weapons and Operator skins that you can use in the battle royale.

"Carry Forward content for players of Call of Duty: Warzone will continue, with Modern Warfare II, Modern Warfare III, and Black Ops 6 content being integrated with the arrival of Season 1," says Activision.

While unconfirmed, it's also likely that level progression in Black Ops 6 and Warzone will be tied together. If you want to level up a weapon quickly by playing Black Ops 6 multiplayer, you should then be able to use those unlocked attachments in Warzone, too. That's how it's worked for the last several Call of Duty games, and it would be surprising to see Activision pivot for this year's game.