How Carry Over works in Modern Warfare 3

Carry Forward in Modern Warfare 3 is the system where equipment earned, purchased, and unlocked in Modern Warfare 2 will be available once you install and boot up the latest game.

However, not all items collected in the previous game can be taken over to Modern Warfare 3 and some carried forward items may have specific restrictions attached. It's worth knowing as much as possible before attempting to carry items across the two games.

Shared progression should also carry over to Warzone 2.0 and Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile too. To help, we've summarised which unlocks will and won't travel with you.

How Carry Forward works in Modern Warfare 3

Carry Forward in Modern Warfare 3 is where content from the previous game, Modern Warfare 2, will be unlocked and available in the newer game as long as you're playing on the same account for both. For most unlocks there will be no 'carry back', where content from Modern Warfare 3 can be taken back to 2. However, there are a few instances (such as weapon progression) where this will work - but we will get into that a bit later.

As there's so much to look at, feel free to use the links below to jump to a specific section:

• Call of Duty: Warzone and Mobile
• Operators and Skins
• Weapons, Attachments and Blueprints
• Cosmetics and Bundles

Call of Duty: Warzone and Modern Warfare 3

Modern Warfare 3 content will be integrated with Call of Duty: Warzone at the beginning of Modern Warfare 3 Season 01.

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile will include joint progression across Modern Warfare 2, the currently active version of Warzone and Modern Warfare 3. Operators, Blueprints, Weapons, and cosmetics are all planned to be accessible between editions. Also, Player level, Battle Pass access and weapon progression will be integrated. More news will be released near the global launch of Mobile in 2024.

Operators and Skins

All of the operators and operator skins you've unlocked, gained through completing a challenge or purchased in Modern Warfare 2 will carry forward to Modern Warfare 3.

Operators that exist in both games are the same character and will be selected in the same operator menu screens alongside any skins and content available in Modern Warfare 2 and 3.

If you don't own Modern Warfare 2 and are going straight into MW3, the base operators from Modern Warfare 2 will not be available. These are Operators with their default Skin that often need to be unlocked through meeting/completing a challenge.

Also, unless it's been explicitly stated that they're not, operators and skins earned through the current version of Warzone (since Season 1 of Modern Warfare 2) will also be carried over.

Timed-exclusive Modern Warfare 2 skins and operators will not be available if they've not already been unlocked or bought. This is usually any Battle Pass content and BlackCell content.

If you buy a Store Bundle pack that contains a purchasable Operator from MW2 in MW3, you will only have the version of the Operator in the pack. For example: If you buy Nova in a store bundle pack in a special skin, you will only have them unlocked in that skin, you will not get their 'Base' design.

Also, if a store bundle is added to Modern Warfare 2 after MW3 is released and the bundle has an Operator in it and you purchase it, you will only that specific design of the Operator will be carried over to MW3.

However, bundles that are created solely for Modern Warfare 3 will only be available there.

Weapons, Attachments and Blueprints

All Modern Warfare 2 weapons will be available for everyone in Modern Warfare 3 but you need to complete each weapon's unlock challenge in Modern Warfare 2 before you can get it in 3.

If you haven't played Modern Warfare 2 and go straight into 3, all MW2 weapons will be available but only after the unlock challenges for the weapon is complete.

A few base Modern Warfare 2 weapons that were only around for a limited time during the game's Seasons of content will be unavaible in Modern Warfare 3 at first unless you've completed the specific unlock challenge for a weapon already.

You can level up Modern Warfare 2 weapons in both games as weapon progression will continually be updated across both games. So, levelling up a weapon in Modern Warfare 3 will level up the weapon in MW2, including unlocking weapon attachments, camos and mastery camos, but Rank XP and Prestige XP will only be awarded to the game you're currently in, not both of them.

At launch, you should be able to get the items listed below from the Gunsmith in MW3:

• MW3 specific base weapons
• Base weapons available from the launch of MW2 will be available at their MW2 level.
• If you don't have MW2 and go straight into MW3, the same weapons will be available and ready to be unlocked.
• Base weapons unlocked through a MW2 season, event, or other unlock challenges that have been completed.

Blueprints also carry forward and specific blueprints in MW2 through store bundles can be bought in MW3. All Modern Warfare 2 attachments are available in Modern Warfare 3 and can be used on suitable MW3 weapons.

Weapon Camos

All weapon camos will carry forward, but limited-time event camos available only during a specific period will carry forward if you've already unlocked them in Modern Warfare 2 at the time they were available.

Modern Warfare 2 base camos can be equipped to Modern Warfare 3 weapons, which also works in reverse. This means that Modern Warfare 3 camos can be applied to MW2 weapons (but only within Modern Warfare 3).

However, MW 2 Completionist Camos cannot be applied to Modern Warfare 3 weaponry and can only be applied to Modern Warfare 2 weapons you've completed the unlock for. Modern Warfare 3 will include its own set of Camos that include completionist camos that are separate from the MW2 ones but the new Camos cannot be earned for MW2 weapons.

Tactical and Lethal Weapon skins carry forward as long as the Tactical or Lethal in question is available in Modern Warfare 3.

Cosmetics and Bundles

Modern Warfare Wartracks and some Vehicles will not be available in Modern Warfare 3. Unlocked calling cards will carry forward from two to three, but things such as Seasonal Prestige Challenges that reward Calling Cards being unlocked can only be done in Modern Warfare 2.

The following cosmetic items all carry forward without any obstructions or restrictions:

• Weapon Charms
• Weapon Mastery Charms
• Weapon Stickers
• Weapon Decals
• Emblems
• Loading Screens

However, there are a few things you need to remember about caryring forward cosmetics:

• Some vehicle Skins may not be available if the vehicles are not included in MW3.
• Wartracks will not carry forward.
• Some Tactical and Lethal equipment may not be available if they're removed from Modern Warfare 3 to make space for new equipment exclusive to MW3.

In-Game Store Bundles

When you're in the MW2 store looking at items to purchase a label will appear underneath the listed items at the bottom of the screen letting you know if the item will carry over to MW3.

If you're looking at a bundle, the label will appear if every item carries over. If the label doesn't appear, then inspect the individual items by selecting them and the label will appear at the bottom of the screen if they will carry forward.

That's it for now! If you're looking for more Modern Warfare 3 content, check out our campaign mission list and rewards page or our crash site weapon and item locations page.