The Case For and Against Carry Forward to Return

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home February 3, 2025 2 Views 7 Min Read
The Case For and Against Carry Forward to Return
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For almost two decades now, the Call of Duty franchise has cycled between its studios and series with each annual entry. More often than not, this cycle has bounced between Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare series and Treyarch’s Black Ops subseries, though other studios like Sledgehammer have also taken the reins over the years. But this cyclical pattern was broken in 2023 with the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which launched just after Modern Warfare 2.

Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3 were the first Call of Duty subseries entries to directly follow one another, and it was an experiment that had mixed results. One major aspect of this sequential experiment was the “Carry Forward” system, which brought all of MW2‘s weapons, attachments, Operators, and cosmetics to MW3. It’s heavily rumored that 2025’s Call of Duty will be another Black Ops entry, directly following Black Ops 6, and that means there’s a chance Carry Forward could return. But the system’s return could have both its benefits and drawbacks.

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Why Call of Duty “Carry Forward” Should Return in CoD 2025

Players’ Purchases Won’t Go To Waste

Arguably the biggest benefit of Call of Duty: MW3‘s Carry Forward system was that it allowed players to keep the Operators, weapon blueprints, and other cosmetics that they paid hard-earned money for. Usually, these paid elements are stripped from players between annual installments, rendering their purchases redundant after just a year or so. Carry Forward gave at least another year of life to players’ paid cosmetics.

Players Get to Keep Using Their Favorite Tools

If Call of Duty 2025 featured a Carry Forward system, it would presumably allow players to keep using the same weapons, Scorestreaks, and equipment they’ve grown accustomed to while playing Black Ops 6. Though these tools would likely be joined by plenty of new ones, it might still be nice for returning players to already have an arsenal they’re comfortable with in Call of Duty 2025.

Why Call of Duty “Carry Forward” Shouldn’t Return in CoD 2025

A Larger Arsenal Can Lead to Balancing Issues

One major issue that arose from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3‘s Carry Forward system was weapon balancing. Carry Forward essentially doubled the number of weapons usually found in a Call of Duty entry, adding MW2‘s old arsenal to MW3‘s new selection of weapons and equipment. More weapons (and a frankly absurd number of attachments for each one) led to some significant balancing issues that affected Modern Warfare 3‘s meta for quite some time.

Black Ops 6’s Arsenal Might Not Fit With CoD 2025’s Aesthetic

For over a year now, it’s been rumored that Call of Duty 2025 will be a direct sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, with its campaign allegedly following David Mason in the year 2030. If this semi-futuristic setting turns out to be true, then it might not make sense for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6‘s weapons, equipment, or Scorestreaks to be transferred directly to Call of Duty 2025, as those 1990s-inspired tools might not fit the 2030s aesthetic.

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