If you extract with a gun in Warzone 2 DMZ, you unlock it forever in Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 players have noticed a quirky feature that intertwines that game's multiplayer unlocks with DMZ, the extraction mode that launched this week alongside Warzone 2. If you escape from DMZ with a new gun, it'll be unlocked in Modern Warfare 2, too.

Activision mentioned this feature a couple days ago in one of its enormous blog posts, but a lot of players, myself included, are just now noticing it.

"In DMZ, extracting with any Contraband weapon unlocks it across all other game modes," reads the post. "This includes the M13B Assault Rifle, a new free functional weapon earned by defeating [[REDACTED]]."

The "redacted" bit there is a PvE boss battle in the DMZ mode. We've got a guide to unlocking the M13B Assault Rifle, if you want the details. Playing DMZ is the only way to get that gun in Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer.

We like DMZ so far—Rich said that it feels like "Call of Duty's future"—and it's free, so it's not the most torturous promotional tie-in for those who favor regular old Call of Duty multiplayer. I don't mind it. Finding a dusty FSS Hurricane out in the wilds of Al Mazrah is almost certainly a faster process than leveling up the M4 so I can then level up the FTAC Recon until I eventually unlock the SMG variant the normal way. And the basic activity is the same: run, crouch slide, shoot, run, crouch slide, shoot, run, crouch slide, shoot.

DMZ isn't just a way to bypass tech trees, either. Shooting up dozens of AI grunts, completing contracts, and fighting the occasional human player is also a very efficient way to earn both weapon XP and battle pass XP. An OK match of DMZ can net you anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 XP total.

Things sure are getting complicated with Call of Duty. On Steam, the latest game is called Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | Warzone 2.0 in my library; it was renamed after the latter launched. From the main menu, I can launch Modern Warfare 2, which leads to a menu which divides its competitive, co-op, and campaign modes, or launch Warzone 2.0 for battle royale modes, or launch DMZ for the extraction mode—it's presented as its own thing. It works well enough for now, but what happens when the next Call of Duty comes out? Will DMZ and Warzone 2.0 battle royale float over to that game's menu, like spirits departing an old host body and possessing a new one?

There is a rumor that next year's Call of Duty will actually be a Modern Warfare 2 expansion, so maybe that question won't have to be answered in 2023, and the Modern Warfare 2 menu will just get even bigger.