Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and 3 Content Does Not Carry Forward Into Black Ops 6

Black Ops 6 acts as a “fresh start for everyone,” developer Treyarch has confirmed.

2023’s Modern Warfare 3 carried forward content from Modern Warfare 2 into the game. However, in Black Ops 6, fully revealed during Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase and Call of Duty Direct, only Black Ops 6 content will be available to use across Multiplayer and Zombies.

In an interview with IGN, Miles Leslie, associate creative director at Treyarch, said Black Ops 6 is “a fresh start.” This means that when Black Ops 6 comes out in October, players will not be playing Multiplayer and Zombies modes in the many and varied skins they’ve already bought for Modern Warfare 3 and Modern Warfare 2. Yes, that means you don’t have to worry about killer clowns and Warhammer 40,000 soldiers ruining that early 90s look and feel.

It also means you won’t see operators from the Modern Warfare sub-brand, which is currently set years after the events of Black Ops 6, confusing matters.

“So, day one, you won’t be running around with any of those skins, so that it doesn’t break that immersion in that narrative we want,” Leslie explained. “Now, of course, we’re going to add those things into post-launch. We know players like those stuff, and then we’ll find really cool things that tie to Black Ops lore and also new exciting stuff as well.”

There is one exception to this rule: the Black Ops 6 Vault Edition Woods Operator Pack preorder benefit. It is currently available in Modern Warfare 3 and will carry forward into Black Ops 6, Activision said.

When Modern Warfare 3 launched last year, some players complained that it was cluttered with fully leveled weapons carried forward from Modern Warfare 2. On the other hand, some players said they appreciated the fact the money they’d spent on content for Modern Warfare 2 did not go to waste just a year later.

Activision further explained the decision in a blog post. Here’s the statement:

We want to make sure that everybody starts fresh, together, as we move into an all-new experience with the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

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.

Therefore, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3 content will not carry forward to the Black Ops 6 Premium experience.

Despite this fresh start for “premium” Call of Duty players, as Activision calls it, Black Ops 6 content will integrate into Warzone and sit alongside all the Modern Warfare 2 and 3 content already available in the battle royale. Warzone is a Call of Duty mash-up that seemingly has no restrictions when it comes to skins.

Black Ops 6 is set in the early 1990s, after the events of Black Ops Cold War and tied to the 1980s flashbacks in 2012’s Black Ops 2. Multiplayer launches with 16 new maps, including 12 core 6v6 maps, and four smaller Strike maps that can be played 2v2 or 6v6.

For more details, check out everything we know about Call of Duty Black Ops 6, including its brand new movement systems. And for more of what Microsoft has up its sleeve, check out everything announced at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.