Warzone’s got a gun bloat problem and ‘Carry Forward’ isn’t helping

Call of Duty's reliance on the CoD HQ is causing an interesting problem: the ability to carry forward all content from previous games to the next installment in the series. While this may seem harmless and irrelevant on the surface, this is a serious problem for Warzone's future health.

What is the Call of Duty Carry Forward initiative?

The main point of contention is the Carry Forward initiative introduced in Modern Warfare 2 (2022) which allows weapons, skins, operators, and more to transfer between Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3, and other future games. On the plus side, Black Ops 6 has confirmed that it will not feature any content from the Modern Warfare series in the Campaign, Zombies, and Multiplayer, but all BO6 content will integrate into Warzone.

Carry Forward is always a divisive topic with two sides shaking their fists at one another. On the one hand, players want to keep their skins and all the operators they have bought in the CoD store, while the other half wishes to prioritize better gameplay and reduce bloat.

The problem with carrying forward all content to Warzone

The problem occurs when you realize that 95% of weaponry in Warzone is unused. It's also laughable how weak Modern Warfare 2 guns are when compared to their Modern Warfare 3 counterparts. Warzone's current meta is a specific few weapons and using anything else is tantamount to throwing your chances of winning in the nearest dumpster. From a design perspective, the new is always better than the old; when considering weapons, each gun is purposefully made to be stronger than those that came before it. No one wants to design a thing that isn't used and what better way than to make it the defacto best? Everything comes full circle when the next update drops and more older content is made redundant. Black Ops 6 is set to have a new movement system, new guns, new perks, and new everything, and then all of that good stuff is going straight into Warzone where it will undoubtedly push MW2 and MW3 content into irrelevancy corner.

I can sympathize with the half that wants to keep their skins, blueprints, and all of those cosmetics bought or earned—no one wants to admit their cosmetics won't last forever. This is a problem with the online landscape as a whole — every cosmetic you earn doesn't truly exist. The moment that game dies and the servers shut down, you will no longer be able to access your coolest skin or your favorite gun. Unfortunately, this is the reality of our world and I respect Activision's attempt to keep as much bought content alive for as long as possible for its community. However, let's not forget that it is in Activision's interest to allow you to keep your cosmetics; the moment players realize that the fancy skin in the store will only last for the next three months, suddenly those cosmetics are less appealing and the game's revenue takes a massive hit.

Recently the Kar98k has just resurfaced in Warzone and it's been both a blessing and a nightmare. Using the weapon feels incredible (if a little overpowered) but dying to its sticky aim assist and one-shot damage isn't exactly fun. Black Ops 6's release will see a host of updated weaponry that will change Warzsone's meta instantly and force players to adapt or get bodied by a player wearing the latest ridiculous skin. During the Black Ops 6 direct on June 9, the developers at Treyarch Studios specifically spoke on their expectations for weaponry; ensuring that each one would be designed based on one of three pillars: enforcers, recon, and strategist. The problem is that no weapons from MW2 or MW3 were designed with this in mind so it can only cause balancing issues down the line.

When Modern Warfare 2 announced all my progress for skins and the one or two store bundles I bought were transferring over to Modern Warfare 3 I was satisfied; I supported the decision since it couldn't hurt for players to have more choices. Unfortunately, that choice is immediately taken away by the strength of MW3 weaponry. To this day I have never touched a MW2 weapon since the launch of Modern Warfare 3 so I wonder what's the point of carrying forward all content if the majority is not worth the time.

When everything is said and done there isn't a solution that meets everyone's expectations. Activision has the choice to either continue with the status quo, ensuring as much content is saved from game to game, or wiping the slate clean after each new installment. I'm fed up with seeing crazy emoji characters and my favorite weapons being useless; but this is just the reality in Warzone and I don't expect things to change for a long time, if ever.

That's my rant on the problem with Warzone's bloat. If you're looking for similar Call of Duty content then check out Call of Duty’s lag situation is only getting worse and needs to be fixed, CoD Fallout bundle labeled “lazy” by fans, and more on Pro Game Guides.