Does Black Ops 6 Have ‘Carry Forward’ This Year?

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will release worldwide on October 25th, 2024. In the world of Call of Duty, the concept of “Carry Forward” has been a topic of interest for players, especially when it comes to the transfer of cosmetics, operators, and weapons from one title to the next. This feature allows players to retain and use the items they bought or earned in the previous game within the new installment, providing a sense of continuity and value to the player’s collection. With Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on the horizon, the questions about Carry Forward have once again arisen.

CARRY FORWARD IN CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE III (2023)

In the case of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023), players were delighted to find that there was carry forward functionality from all the items obtained in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022). This meant that players could continue to use their favorite cosmetics, operators, and weapons in the latest installment of the series, enhancing their gameplay experience. It makes sense why content from MW2 would carry over to MW3, as MW3 takes place in the same era, probably minutes after the events of MW2. So, it would’ve been odd & redundant to not allow players to use their content from MW2 in the current Modern Warfare entry. It definitely would’ve been odd to see MW2 content rereleased or repurposed for the current game. Most players get hooked on using MW3 content & generally move on from MW2s content, with the exception of maybe an aftermarket part for a MW2 weapon.

WARZONE CARRY FORWARD IN BLACK OPS 6

For those who aren’t aware, Warzone won’t be vaulting any MW2 or MW3 content when Black Ops 6 integrates with Warzone later this fall in Season 1. You’ll still be able to use your Modern Warfare 2 & Modern Warfare 3 content along with your Black Ops 6 Weaponry, Operators, & Cosmetics once a new Battle Royale experience or whatever may release during Season 1 & beyond. You should be able to use all 3 games libraries of content when playing Warzone. Note, this carry forward of MW2 & MW3 content is only for Warzone.

CHANGES IN CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS 6

However, with the release of this year’s title, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, a significant change has been made regarding Carry Forward. Unlike the previous transition from MW2 to MW3, there will be no carry forward feature for items from the Modern Warfare games to Black Ops 6 when it comes to Multiplayer & Zombies. Instead, these items will only be available in Warzone as mentioned earlier. This decision marks a departure from the previous practice and emphasizes a clear separation between the two-game series. To get into more specifics, here’s what we know so far:

WHAT WON’T CARRY FOWARD TO BLACK OPS 6:

XP Tokens

This will be a huge marketing, especially when it comes to let’s say, a new promotion like Mountain Dew, Doritos, Monster, etc. They’re going to want players to stock up on new XP tokens for whenever those new promotions do begin for Black Ops 6. It would also be a bit unfair if say, someone who never played MW2, MW3, or Warzone, picks up a copy of Black Ops 6, & is thrown into a game against a lobby of players that already have a crazy advantage. This advantage, being weapon or level-wise, would come from a stockpile of unspent Double XP & Double Weapon XP tokens from previous games.

PLAYER LEVEL & STATS

What will likely happen regarding your level is it’ll remain locked in at whatever level you end up reaching, when you boot up MW2 or MW3, maybe even Warzone before the launch of Season 1. Kind of similar to how Warzone 1 ended. As for your stats, obviously your stats will just remain relevant to Modern Warfare, & will not matter, nor carry forward into a game like Black Ops 6.

WEAPONS, BLUEPRINTS, & CAMOS

You will not be able to bring any of your weapons from MW2 or MW3 into Black Ops 6. With that being said, it also means you won’t be able to bring any of your bundle blueprints or free blueprints into the new Black Ops. There is an argument to be made regarding camos. Why can’t camos, even the event ones at least, be brought over into Black Ops 6? Why can’t they be applied to Black Ops 6 weapons, especially considering the unified engine, COD HQ, etc. The argument is there, but I believe that Treyarch will want to give Black Ops 6 its’ own identity, completely separate from any previous Modern Warfare entry. Going that route, players will be able to customize your weapons with the camos & wraps that they cook up in the studio, & not pieces of cosmetics that they had no part in making.

In the case you want to use a Black Ops weapon alongside a Modern Warfare weapon, you’ll just have to boot up Warzone to go ahead & do that. Personally, I don’t see or understand why players would want to bloat Black Ops 6 with a boatload of Modern Warfare blueprints & weapons. Not only would it be an overwhelming cluster to see in the menu or in-game, but it would probably be even harder for Treyarch to balance the weapons every season. This would just be too much to look after as MW3 alone already has over 100 weapons to choose from.

OPERATORS & BUNDLES

As far as Modern Warfare operators & any bundles you may have purchased for with flashy skins or wicked blueprints, no these can’t be brought into Black Ops 6. But again, they can be used in Warzone, even after the Black Ops 6 integration. It would just be odd to have any type of Cannon when the immersion is already broken by having 2020 era operators in a 1991 era multiplayer. It just wouldn’t make any sense.

COSMETICS

When it comes to Calling Cards, charms, stickers, & emblems, it’s likely to work like this: You can run Modern Warfare calling card, emblem, etc. You’ll be able to when you’re logged into Warzone. But when you’re playing Black Ops 6 multiplayer or zombies, you won’t be able to run any of the Modeen Warfare cosmetics. This is what has been inferred from the Treyarch presentation at the studio a week & a half ago, as well as from info from some recent Black Ops 6 blog posts. Fret not, there will be plenty of cosmetics you can choose from in Black Ops 6 going forward. Plenty to the point where there won’t be any room to bring in the hundreds of cosmetics that were in the recent Modern Warfare entries.

SEASON 6 BATTLE PASS?

The Modern Warfare 2: Season 6 Battle Pass was something that you were able to progress while playing Modern Warfare 3 during the preseason window. Is it possible that you’ll be able to grind the Modern Warfare 3: Season 6 Haunting Battle Pass while Black Ops 6 is in its’ preseason window before the release of the Season 1 Battle Pass? It’s actually a possibility, but I don’t see it being the case. The reason being it wouldn’t make much sense to be grinding for MW3 content that you can’t use in Black Ops 6. So why would they let you unlock that content if you’re not even logged into the right game to use it? It made sense with the MW2 Battle Pass, because all that content you were grinding for carried over into the MW3 experience.

WHAT WILL CARRY FORWARD TO BLACK OPS 6:

COD POINTS

So long you’re on the same platform & the same Activision account, your COD points should transfer over. It should also work in cross gen situation where if you buy 2400 COD points on PS4, you should be able to see & use those COD points on the PS5 edition of the game. It’s possible that may not work, but I believe it does. What’s known for sure is that you can’t jump from PlayStation to Xbox or to PC & keep your COD points you’ve purchased. COD points will not transfer to entirely different platforms from the one they are originally purchased on. But if you purchased COD points on MW3 for the PC, you should see them on your PC copy of Black Ops 6 day one.

The Frank Woods Exception

Surprisingly, it was confirmed that those who pre order Black Ops 6 and unlock Frank Woods can carry these three skins into Black Ops 6 this fall. This marks the only exception (aside from COD Points) to the “No Carry Forward” rule from Modern Warfare to Black Ops 6. All 3 of these skins will carry over & should be able to use during the beta, & during the launch window for Multiplayer & Warzone.

Keep note that while playing the Black Ops 6 beta, there could be new rewards such as operator skins, blueprints, calling cards, charms, emblems, etc. introduced that should become usable during the launch window of Black Ops 6. But when it comes to actual progression, level, & your stats during the beta, none of that will transfer into the full game.

CARRY FORWARD EXPLAINED BY TREYARCH

A question was asked during the presentation a week & a half ago at the studio. People asked why we couldn’t bring our Modern Warfare content into Black Ops 6? What is the reason? They made it pretty clear, it’s all about Identity. Black Ops 6 being set in the 90’s era doesn’t really allow for Modern Warfare II or Modern Warfare III content to fit within Multiplayer and Zombies. Treyarch laid out last week that they wanted the tone of Black Ops 6 to remain consistent. If it had been a game that took place in the present day closer to Modern Warfare, they would’ve considered doing more, but even then, they want their game to stand out on its’ own.

On top of not seeing a bunch of bloat with a ton of weapons, attachments, operator skins, bundles, etc. Black Ops 6 needs to feel like a Black Ops game. There really isn’t a way to do that if there’s hundreds of upon thousands of items from two previous Call of Duty entries that have nothing to do with Black Ops 6. It doesn’t really add up. That’s what Warzone is for, to use all those cosmetics together. It’s almost odd to see frustration surrounding this subject, considering no other Call of Duty in the past has really offered Carry Forward. Modern Warfare 3 was just a special case where it made the most sense. It’s not this is a feature being removed that was a staple of the franchise for well over a decade. This game is going back to the roots of “Fresh game, its own identity, completely separate from recent entries”.

FUTURE CARRY FORWARD: CALL OF DUTY 2025??

Looking ahead to the rumored release of Call of Duty 2025, which is speculated to be a pseudo-sequel to Black Ops 2, there is a glimmer of hope for fans of the carry forward feature. Given the potential thematic connection between Black Ops 6 and the rumored Black Ops 2 sequel, there is a possibility that items from the former may carry forward to the latter. This speculation has sparked excitement among players who are eager to see their favorite items persist across multiple titles, and people who want the most bang for their buck when it comes to purchasing cosmetics and Battle Passes.

However, the question does arise, if Black Ops 2025 is a futuristic title, will ’90s era content make sense to include in that futuristic setting? It’s a case of possibly creating more controversy like “You had back-to-back Modern Warfare games that offered carry forward, why not back-to-back Black Ops games that offer it?” It’d be a fair argument to make, & Treyarch could pull a Black Ops 2 where the game offers some content from the past & content from the future. Here’s the best of both in one unified Campaign, Multiplayer, & Zombies. While Call of Duty has evolved in its approach to carry forward functionality, the concept remains a compelling aspect of the gaming experience. Whether it be the seamless transition of items between titles, or the anticipation of future carry forward possibilities, this feature adds depth and continuity to the ever-expanding world of Call of Duty.