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.
This New Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Map Makes Brilliant Use of a Key Feature
Season 2 of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has brought plenty of new maps to the title, with one map leaning into one of the game's defining mechanics.
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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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- October 25, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Suggestive Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Treyarch, Raven Software
- Publisher(s)
- Activision
- Engine
- IW 9.0
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- Yes - PlayStation, Xbox, PC
WHERE TO PLAY
Forced to go rogue. Hunted from within. This is Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
Developed by Treyarch and Raven, Black Ops 6 is a spy action thriller set in the early 90s, a period of transition and upheaval in global politics, characterized by the end of the Cold War and the rise of the United States as a single superpower. With a mind-bending narrative, and unbound by the rules of engagement, this is signature Black Ops.
The Black Ops 6 Campaign provides dynamic moment-to-moment gameplay that includes a variety of play spaces with blockbuster set pieces and action-packed moments, high-stakes heists, and cloak-and-dagger spy activity.
In a best-in-class Multiplayer experience, players will test their skills across 16 new maps at launch, including 12 core 6v6 maps and 4 Strike maps that can be played 2v2 or 6v6.
Black Ops 6 also marks the epic return of Round-Based Zombies, the fan-favorite mode where players will take down hordes of the undead in two brand-new maps at launch. Post-launch, players can look forward to even more exciting maps and groundbreaking experiences dropping into both Multiplayer and Zombies.
- Cross Save
- Yes - PlayStation, Xbox, PC
- Prequel(s)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: World at War
- Franchise
- Call of Duty
- Number of Players
- 1-4
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical or Horizontal
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- PC Release Date
- October 25, 2024
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- October 25, 2024
- PS5 Release Date
- October 25, 2024
- Genre(s)
- FPS
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
- How Long To Beat
- 8 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- File Size Xbox Series
- 216 GB (October 2024)
- Local Co-Op Support
- 1-2 Players
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
