Mayans MC’s Richard Cabral Thinks The Worst Is Yet To Come For Coco

With so much happening in Season 3 of Mayans MC, FX’s Sons of Anarchy spin-off series, one story being told is among the most personal and devastating yet–and it has nothing to do with the Reyes brothers, EZ and Angel. This season has seen club member Coco (Richard Cabral) spiral out of control as he fell head-first into heroin addiction. Then, in the last episode, he went too far and overdosed.

Warning: The following contains spoilers from the latest episode of Mayans MC, “A Mixed-up and Splendid Rescue.” If you haven’t watched the new episode yet, you should stop reading now and catch up over at FX on Hulu.

When the seventh episode of this season, “What Comes of Handlin’ Snakeskin,” ended, viewers saw Coco seemingly dead on the couch after overdosing on heroin. Thankfully, as the latest episode, “A Mixed-up and Splendid Rescue,” revealed, he managed to survive. That doesn’t mean he’s reached rock bottom, though.

While Coco assured his daughter Leticia (Emily Tosta) that he was going to get clean, along with his love interest Hope (Vanessa Giselle), by the end of this week’s episode, Hope had abandoned him and their quest for sobriety. And as Cabral told GameSpot, viewers shouldn’t be too surprised if he follows her back toward the drug.

“[We’ve] got to understand drug addiction and most of these people that go on this spiral of drug addiction, it’s not until later that they get clean, right? He is barely in the beginning [of the] process,” the actor explained. “This thing has him in a way that he doesn’t even understand. If it was his third [or] fourth time going back and forth, he would have an understanding [of] what is going to happen. But heroin is nothing to play with. Once it has you, it has you, right? So I think, in his mind, he’s saying things but he doesn’t truly understand that it’s not even the truth.”

The sooner he gets control of his addiction, the better, though. After all, not only is he gambling with his own life and inflicting intense emotional trauma on his daughter, there’s also the club to think about. As he sunk into this addiction, he stole from the club in order to keep them from finding out he was using heroin. We’ve seen on Sons of Anarchy what happens when you betray the club (we still miss you, Juice) and it never ends well. What’s more, according to Cabral, Coco knows that.

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“But again, like him saying that he wants to get clean, there’s these thoughts but the addiction has him,” the actor said. “The drug has him so tight right now that he can’t act against [it]. But the reality is that yes, if the brothers find out they will kill him and he knows that. But, the heroin hangs on so tight right now that he can’t do nothing, that’s the reality. He is hooked on heroin. He is the slave to heroin.”

As someone that has been open about his own past narcotics issues, this story of drug addiction is a personal one to Cabral. What’s more, though, it’s one that he believes speaks to a larger issue.

“Our nation is dying right now,” he said. “This is real, right? This is not something that happened 5-10 years ago, this issue is happening right now and people are dying by the hundreds, thousands, you know? So we’re addressing it, you know, this show Mayans is addressing that problem and I am the one that’s taking that on my back.”

Now fans just have to hope that by the end of this story, Coco has somehow managed to survive–both his addiction and those he’s wronged to feed it.

Mayans MC airs Tuesday on FX.

Now Playing: Mayans MC: How Season 3 Ties Into Sons Of Anarchy

Remembering Resident Evil 7 Trailer

A brief look at what happened in Resident Evil 7 Biohazard leading into Resident Evil Village. Find out how Ethan’s story continues. Resident Evil Village comes to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Steam, and Stadia on May 7th, 2021!

Godzilla vs. Kong Director Adam Wingard May Return for Son of Kong

While the future of Legendary’s MonsterVerse hasn’t been officially revealed as of yet, sources have said that Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard is in talks to return for another film that could possibly be Son of Kong.

As reported by THR, Legendary is “quietly taking steps to stretch the series into one or more installments” following the success of Godzilla vs. Kong.

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Not only did Godzilla vs. Kong smash the pandemic record for an opening weekend box office debut, the latest film in the MonsterVerse has also already surpassed $400 million globally. This success is despite the movie also being available on HBO Max.

If Legendary can secure a new deal with Wingard, this would be the first time a director has returned for a second film since the MonsterVerse began with 2014’s Godzilla.

However, there is no timetable for Wingard’s return as he has already committed to directing both a feature film adaptation of the animated television series Thundercats and a sequel to 1997’s Face/Off, which starred John Travolta and Nicolas Cage.

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THR also notes that Wingard has been very involved in “creating Godzilla vs. Kong set-pieces as well as the world-building for the movie’s Hollow Earth plotline.” They’ve also been discussing plenty of ideas for what this new film would be, and Son of Kong is one of these that is being “floated internally.”

1933’s Son of Kong was originally a sequel to King Kong that was released nine months after the original. The story picked up a month after Kong’s destructive time in New York City.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The Handmaid’s Tale: The First Three Episodes of Season 4 Are Available Now

In a wonderful Tuesday night surprise, the first three episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale’s fourth season are now available on Hulu, one day earlier than when they were scheduled to arrive.

The cast of The Handmaid’s Tale, including Elisabeth Moss, Alexis Bledel, Sam Jaeger, Bradley Whitford, Joe Fiennes, Ann Dowd, Amanda Brugel, Madeline Brewer, and O-T Fagbenle, shared the exciting news in a video to the show’s fans on Twitter.

These first three episodes, which are titled “Pigs,” “Nightshade,” and “The Crossing,” kick of the show’s 10-episode season that will see new episodes arriving each week.

This new season follows June’s fight for freedom against Gilead, yet her “desire for justice and revenge threaten to consume her and destroy her most cherished relationships,” according to Hulu’s official description.

As The Handmaid’s Tale continues on Hulu, so does work on the adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments, which is the sequel to this story. This new novel was published in September 2020 and is set 15 years after the events of the original.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Mortal Kombat Movie vs Game Fatalities

All the way back from the original Mortal Kombat in 1992 to the latest Mortal Kombat 11 of 2019, Mortal Kombat 2021 pulls from the best in its choice of fatalities, even pulling some new ones.

So, let’s compare Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Shang Tsung, Jax, Kano, and Sonya Blade’s fatalities of the films to their in-game counter parts!

The Best Pokemon Spin-Offs

Like so many of Nintendo’s other marquee franchises, the Pokemon series has produced numerous spin-offs over the last 25 years, branching out into genres as disparate as puzzlers, dungeon crawlers, pinball, and even fighting games. Although not everyone of these experiments turned out to be a success, there have been some wonderful off-shoot Pokemon games, many of which are now considered classics in their own right.

If you’ve been following the franchise for as long as we have, you’ve likely played your share of Pokemon spin-offs over the years, and there may even be some that you enjoy more than the mainline series. To celebrate the release of New Pokemon Snap, the latest off-shoot title to arrive on Nintendo Switch, we’ve rounded up our favorite Pokemon spin-off games and why they hold such a fond place in our hearts. While not every one of these titles is a classic in its genre, each one did something unique that captured our attention and enhanced our love for the series. Be sure to also tell us what your favorite Pokemon spin-offs are in the comments below!

New Pokemon Snap launches for Nintendo Switch on April 30, more than 20 years after the original Pokemon Snap hit the Nintendo 64. Despite this long wait for a sequel, the original game remains one of the most beloved Pokemon spin-offs among fans, making New Pokemon Snap one of this year’s most anticipated Switch releases. You can read more about the game and what preorder bonuses are available at different retailers in our New Pokemon Snap preorder guide.

Pokemon Snap

Pokemon Snap (1999)
Pokemon Snap (1999)

One can’t have a list of the best Pokemon spin-off games without mentioning Pokemon Snap. The 1999 N64 game casts you as Todd Snap, a Pokemon photographer employed by Professor Oak, who summons you to an island that somehow has numerous climates and ecosystems of wild Pokemon. Each level takes you to a new environment, where you ride in a rail-powered cart on a set path, taking photographs of the wild Pokemon you spot to aid Oak’s research. While some Pokemon will be out in the open, others you have to catch at precise moments and draw out in strategic ways using items like apples. You’ll be rated by Oak based on how well your photos turn out, and your score will be higher if you catch Pokemon in special poses.

There are only 63 Gen 1 Pokemon in Pokemon Snap, but despite the limited number of Pokemon and restricted perspective you have for taking photos, Pokemon Snap was iconic. It was thrilling to capture a great photo of a Pokemon doing something cool, and the replay value was excellent–once you got the feel for which Pokemon would appear where, you could plan your shots accordingly. Flipping through the album of your favorite photos was nothing less than pure satisfaction.

After waiting patiently for over 20 years, it’s wonderful that a new Pokemon Snap game is now on Nintendo Switch. It’s a dream come true, and I’m honestly overjoyed to see Pokemon Snap return for a new generation. At this point, I’m just hoping that Nintendo brings back the original in some form as well! Let’s get N64 games on the online service in 2021, come on Nintendo! | Jenae Sitzes, Commerce Editor

Pokemon Pinball

Pokemon Pinball (1999)
Pokemon Pinball (1999)

The Pokemon series has been spun off into many seemingly incongruous genres over the years, but one of its earliest offshoots remains among its absolute best: Pokemon Pinball. At first blush, Pokemon and pinball seem like an especially odd pairing, but co-developers HAL and Jupiter married the two together cleverly, producing what is still one of the most fun digital pinball games I’ve ever played.

At its core, Pokemon Pinball plays very much like HAL’s previous pinball game, Kirby’s Pinball Land, but what gives the title much of its charm is its Pokemon window dressing. Pikachu stands in the corners of the screen and can shock the ball (naturally, a Poke Ball) back into play, and the table’s bumpers take the form of various Pokemon such as Voltorb, Shellder, and Diglett. Mirroring the original RPGs, Pokemon Pinball also offers two different tables, Red and Blue, each of which features its own unique elements and bonus stages.

As you knock the ball around and rack up points, you’ll activate the game’s “Catch Mode,” which is where Pokemon’s influence truly comes in. When Catch Mode is active, you’ll need to hit the top bumpers to slowly reveal a picture of a Pokemon. Once the picture is completed, the Pokemon will appear on the field, and you’ll need to hit it enough times with the ball to catch it–an ingenious way to integrate a core mechanic of the Pokemon series into a pinball game.

It’s a shame the original Pokemon Pinball didn’t receive a Virtual Console release on 3DS as a few other Pokemon spin-offs did, so the only way to experience it nowadays would be to track down an original copy for Game Boy Color. However, its GBA follow-up, Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, was re-released on Wii U, and it’s just as great. There’s no shortage of fans clamoring for a sequel to Pokemon Snap (for good reason), but what we truly need is a new Pokemon Pinball game. | Kevin Knezevic, Associate Editor

Pokemon TCG (Game Boy Color)

Pokemon TCG (2000)

It’s impossible to discuss the early days of the Pokemon series without also mentioning the Pokemon Trading Card Game. Together with the anime and video games, the Pokemon TCG was a big reason why the franchise was so explosively popular in the late ’90s. While I never had much interest in playing the actual card game with my friends, like other kids at the time, I was obsessed with collecting the cards, which is what led me to discover Pokemon TCG for Game Boy Color.

As its name suggests, Pokemon TCG for Game Boy was a digitized version of the card game, featuring the same rules and cards as the physical game. What made the title so compelling, however, were its RPG elements. Just as in the mainline Pokemon games, your ultimate goal is to travel to different clubs, each of which specialized in a particular type, and defeat the eight Club Masters. After collecting their badges, you earned the right to face off against the Grand Masters–TCG’s equivalent of the Elite Four.

Compared to other card games, the Pokemon TCG was fairly simple, but that accessibility was another reason it translated so well into a video game. As in the mainline titles, Pokemon cards have different elemental strengths and weaknesses, and you need to exploit them if you hope to defeat the Club Masters. Of course, given the nature of card games, battles often hinged in part on luck (there was only so much you could do if you drew a bad hand), but it nonetheless felt very satisfying to devise strategies and build a well-rounded deck.

The Game Boy Color game would receive a sequel in Japan, but that, unfortunately, was never localized. While it seems unlikely that we’ll ever get another proper Pokemon TCG video game, its spirit lives on in Pokemon TCG Online, a free-to-download digital version of the card game. It’s not a proper follow-up to the Game Boy title–TCG Online doesn’t have RPG elements like the Game Boy game, for instance–but it’s a lot of fun in its own right, which shows why the trading card game has been able to remain so popular for over two decades. | Kevin Knezevic, Associate Editor

Hey You, Pikachu!

Hey You, Pikachu! (2000)

Full disclosure: I was probably seven or eight years old when I played Hey You, Pikachu! on N64, but I’d play it again in a heartbeat if I still owned the game and its necessary equipment. Released in 2000, Hey You, Pikachu is basically a pet simulator, except your pet is a wild Pikachu that you slowly befriend over the course of the game. Professor Oak has tasked you with learning to communicate with this Pikachu using a handy voice device he’s created. To do this, you needed the N64’s Voice Recognition Unit, which plugged into one of the system’s controller slots and had a little microphone with a yellow foam cover that you’d speak into.

After you slowly gain Pikachu’s trust, it’ll come hang out with you in your house. There are numerous activities the two of you can do together, like babysitting Caterpie or gathering food for Bulbasaur’s picnic. To guide Pikachu in these tasks, you use the on-screen pointer and the VRU to give it verbal commands. Pikachu’s understanding of the human language is limited to about 200 words and phrases, but learning to communicate clearly and accomplish tasks together are the moments I remember most fondly. Of course, I wanted to talk with Pikachu about more than just fishing or gathering food. I wanted to tell Pikachu about my day. I read entire books to Pikachu using the VRU. Its look of confusion during these one-way conversations I’ll never forget, but I like to think it brought us closer.

With its emphasis on interactivity and cooperation, Hey You, Pikachu sucked me into the world of Pokemon in a way that no other game has. It’s a game that will probably never (and probably shouldn’t) be remade, but if you owned it back in 2000 and were the target age group, Hey You, Pikachu was absolutely thrilling. It gave me a digital friend I’ll never forget. | Jenae Sitzes, Commerce Editor

Pokemon XD: Gale Of Darkness

Pokemon XD: Gale Of Darkness (2005)

12-year-old Jordan thought the idea of shadow Pokemon was one of the coolest things in the world, almost as cool as a Pokemon spin-off that retained the mainline games’ traditional turn-based combat but didn’t tell the usual story about beating Gym Leaders. Someone probably should have told him about Pokemon Colosseum. Perhaps a friend, if he had had any.

But since that was not the case, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness was my first foray into playing such a game. I love the challenge of Gale of Darkness–it’s harder than many of the mainline games, largely because you’re trying to juggle both defeating and catching your opponent’s Pokemon. I’ll still occasionally boot up the ol’ GameCube and mess around in Gale of Darkness, only to quickly remember that its Battle Tower is no joke and I’m woefully ill-prepared.

Purifying shadow Pokemon offers another wrinkle to the traditional gameplay formula as well, since they’re all powerhouses for their level but can’t grow stronger until they’re purified. And you don’t start with the typical choice of starter in Gale of Darkness–the game gives you an Eevee, letting you essentially begin the game with a Fire, Water, Electric, Psychic, or Dark Pokemon. Or, I guess, you could just stick with Normal if you’re so inclined to remain boringly dull.

And honestly, that’s why I like Gale of Darkness so much–it’s just a small tweak to what the mainline games do, not a complete transformation. And that’s really all I need, just a wee taste of something different to cleanse the palate.

Plus, for as long as I live, I’ll never forget Lotad, Lombre, and Ludicolo dancing to the sick beat of the Miror B. Battle Theme–and that’s a beautiful mixture of sight and sound that no Pokemon game has managed to match. | Jordan Ramée, Associate Editor

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (2006)

With Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX finally out on Nintendo Switch, we’d be remiss not to look back at the 2006 games that inspired the remake: Red Rescue Team on Game Boy Advance and its near-identical Nintendo DS version, Blue Rescue Team. While I never owned a DS and therefore didn’t play Blue, I have a special place in my heart for Red Rescue Team, which I knew absolutely nothing about when I first picked it up.

The Rescue Team games, which kicked off the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon spin-off series, are strange entries in the world of Pokemon games. The story follows a human who wakes up one day as a Pokemon, quickly becomes best friends with another Pokemon, and forms a small business where they take on Pokemon rescues and other odd jobs. Oh, and you take a personality quiz at the beginning that decides if you play as a Pikachu, Totodile, or maybe a Machop (there are 16 options). Before you know it, you’re dungeon-diving and engaging other Pokemon in increasingly challenging turn-based combat as you complete jobs, such as escorting a client or delivering an item. Dungeon exploration and battles take place on a top-down, grid-like map, and there’s also a hunger mechanic–if your team gets too hungry, they’ll start taking damage.

I had no idea I was in for any of this when I first booted up Red Rescue Team on my Game Boy Advance, but the game soon won me over with its charm. The game was rightfully criticized for the tediousness of its dungeons, but the slowly unraveled mystery of my character’s identity and the camaraderie formed with my fellow rescue team members, especially my partner Pokemon (I still remember it was a Squirtle), left a lasting impact. None of the later Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games captured the charm of Red Rescue Team in my eyes, so it’s a pleasant surprise to see such a stunning remake of Rescue Team on Nintendo Switch. While there’s no reason to dig up your Game Boy Advance or DS and play the original Rescue Team at this point, I can’t wait for a new generation of Pokemon fans to experience its charms. | Jenae Sitzes, Commerce Editor

Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go (2016)

It’s impossible to overstate the impact Pokemon Go has had on the franchise in its relatively short existence. When it first arrived back in Summer 2016, it seemed like everyone in the world was enamored with the game. Videos of crowds stopping traffic to catch Pokemon and stories of expectant fathers capturing Pokemon while their wives were in labor dominated social media in the weeks that followed its launch, and you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing groups of people huddled together, phones out, hunting pocket monsters.

Of course, I was among the many players swept up in Pokemon Go’s hype, which is ironic as I don’t think the game is particularly fun to play. Compared to other Pokemon spin-offs, Go is fairly rudimentary. Tap on a Pokemon, flick your finger across the screen to throw a Poke Ball at it–rinse and repeat. Like many other mobile games, Pokemon Go is also grind-heavy; evolving Pokemon requires you to feed them a sufficient amount of Candy, and the only way to obtain that is to repeatedly capture Pokemon of that species, which can take weeks.

And yet, despite all the complaints I have about the game, there’s something inherently appealing about Pokemon Go that encourages me to keep coming back to it. I think it’s the camaraderie it fosters. Even though I’m not particularly invested in building up a team and battling in Raids, I still fire the game up while out on a walk just to see what Pokemon and Poke Stops are around. The Community Day events are especially enjoyable; my girlfriend and I often go out to the park on these days and capture Pokemon together, which is always a pleasant way to spend a sunny morning. It’s these kinds of moments, more than the actual gameplay, that make Pokemon Go one of my favorite Pokemon spin-offs. | Kevin Knezevic, Associate Editor

Detective Pikachu

Detective Pikachu (2018)

I play Pokemon pretty intensely, so it’s not often that a spin-off that lacks competitive edge grabs my attention. But Detective Pikachu is absolutely delightful. Before the movie (which is also very good), Detective Pikachu on 3DS combined Pokemon with another of my favorite things, crime drama, in a delightful, silly, fun-loving way that endeared me immediately.

Like the movie, Detective Pikachu brings the world of Pokemon to life in a way the main games don’t. The streets are lined with Trubbish; Yanma work as cameramen on flashy TV sets; and white-collar crime dominates the scene. With the help of a Pikachu with an old man’s voice–unfortunately not Danny DeVito’s, but what can you do–you get to solve mysteries wholly unlike the walloping you give to every Team Rocket-like in the main series. I was actually surprised by some of the twists and turns, too, even though the process of collecting evidence isn’t exactly difficult.

Detective Pikachu came out in the West toward the end of the 3DS’ life cycle, so there’s a chance you may have missed it. But I think it’s a good, goofy time, and it cleverly uses the Pokemon universe to craft mysteries for you to solve. Plus, it’s hard not to love Detective Pikachu, one of the weirdest cop characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of getting to know in a video game or otherwise. | Kallie Plagge

Marvel’s Ironheart Series Has Found Its Writer – Report

It’s full steam ahead for the MCU and all of their projects. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney+’s Ironheart show has brought Chinaka Hodge (TNT’s Snowpiercer) on as head writer.

The show will focus on Riri Williams, played by Dominique Thorne, a brilliant teenage inventor who was introduced in the comics back in 2016’s Invincible Iron Man. Williams created her own version of the Iron Man armor in her dorm at MIT and eventually took over as Iron Man when Tony Stark was temporarily taken out of commission. Riri went on to coin the name Ironheart and star in her own solo comic book series.

Details about the Ironheart show are still scarce. It is unknown where in the MCU timeline Riri’s introduction will take place or if she’ll be related to Tony Stark’s legacy at all in this incarnation of events–especially since MCU has reconfigured Peter Parker into a sort of teenage Iron Man legacy character already. Still, given the wide open playing field that is Phase 4, anything could happen and Riri has plenty of space to work.

In addition to Ironheart, there will also be an Armor Wars show coming to Disney+ which will focus on Rhodey and his War Machine armor.

Next up on the MCU docket is Loki, another MCU TV show headed for Disney+ on June 11.

Best CoD: Warzone Season 3 Loadouts And Guns

It’s been almost a week since Season 3 started for Call of Duty: Warzone, and along with the “new” 1984 Verdansk map came a shift in the gun meta. Weapon tuning for Season 3 has mostly dethroned the FFAR 1 assault rifle that reigned supreme in Warzone for most of Season 2. You can still hold your own with Season 2’s star class, but there are actually better choices for the time being.

It’s been a while since the meta hasn’t felt restricted to just one or two overpowered weapons, so this is a great time to try out new weapon builds. Here are a few different options to test out for your Warzone loadouts.

Best CR-56 AMAX Loadout

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Most assault rifles couldn’t compete with the FFAR 1’s previously god-tier high fire rate and low recoil, but now Season 3 finally lets the CR-56 AMAX assault rifle shine. Actually, this has been a solid assault rifle since its introduction into Modern Warfare, and it’s been my personal favorite Warzone weapon, even when everyone else was on the FFAR 1 hype train. I’m happy to see this gun sitting at the top of the pack, as this is currently the best long- to mid-range option in Warzone right now. It does have more recoil than the FFAR 1 had last season, but equipping something like the Commando Foregrip attachment can help with that.

Recommended Attachments:

  • Muzzle: Monolithic suppressor
  • Barrel: XRK Zodiac
  • Underbarrel: Commando Foregrip
  • Ammunition: 45-round mag
  • Optic: Honestly, optics always come down to more of personal preference and playstyle. Personally, I never go higher than a 3x optic on any of my assault rifles, and I run the Viper Reflex Sight on my AMAX build, but just pick something that feels comfortable for your long-distance gunfights. Maybe you prefer a 4x hybrid optic or a thermal scope.

Best AK-47 Loadout

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Cold War’s AK-47 has been a poor choice for Warzone in the previous seasons, but Season 3 buffed this assault rifle enough to finally become viable. There was a noticeable buff to the recoil, but this still probably won’t be the gun for beaming enemies across the map. But despite not being the best option for long-range gunfights, it’s quickly becoming a popular choice for mid- to close-range gun fights due to its fast time-to-kill. An AK-47 submachine-gun-style build seems to be edging out the actual submachine guns in popularity, so this and the CR-56 AMAX will likely edge out the competition to become Warzone’s new meta.

Recommended Attachments:

  • Muzzle: GRU Suppressor
  • Barrel: 15.5″ Ultralight barrel
  • Stock: KGB Skeletal Stock
  • Ammunition: 45-round Mags
  • The last attachment can be preference. Spetsnaz Grip for better accuracy, optic for better visibility, or Serpent Wrap for better ADS speed. I’m pretty comfortable with the AK-47’s iron sights, so I’m currently using the Serpent Wrap rear grip on mine.

Best FARA 83 Loadout

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Like the AK-47, Cold War’s FARA 83 is another assault rifle that doesn’t really stack up as well with the CR-56 AMAX as a long-range option, but works great as a mid-range option. This could be built to pair well as a secondary to a sniper, marksman rifle, or the CR-56 AMAX.

Recommended Attachments:

  • Muzzle: GRU Suppressor
  • Barrel: 14.8″ Ultralight
  • Stock: KGB Skeletal Stock
  • Ammunition: Spetsnaz 50-round mag
  • Rear Grip: Serpent Wrap

Best Krig-6 Loadout

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The Krig-6 is another Cold War assault rifle that wasn’t a smart Warzone choice prior to the Season 3 update, but the recent buffs help this gun kill much faster now. This is not my personal favorite, but it really gets the job done with the right attachments, especially the ones that help beef up the bullet velocity. This can be another long-range option, if you’re looking to use something other than the CR-56 AMAX.

Recommended Attachments:

  • Muzzle: Agency Suppressor
  • Barrel: 19.7″ Ranger
  • Underbarrel: Field Agent Grip
  • Ammunition: STANAG 60-round mag
  • Optic: Optic of your choice

There’s really not a single standout as the meta for submachine guns. However, there are actually a few really solid options for a close-range secondary gun, if you’re not planning on using the FARA or AK-47’s submachine gun-like builds.

Best LC10 Loadout

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The MAC-10 has been a dominant submachine gun for the past two seasons, and while it’s still a solid choice even after its recent nerf, the LC10 might actually be set to replace it. Thanks to the recent buff to the bullet velocity, the LC10 is now a strong contender for the submachine class.

Recommended Attachments:

  • Muzzle: Agency Suppressor
  • Barrel: 13.9″ Task Force
  • Underbarrel: Field Agent Grip
  • Ammunition: 45-round mag
  • Stock: No Stock

Best Bullfrog Loadout

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The Bullfrog is a pretty accurate and powerful weapon in the submachine gun pool. This quickly became my favorite choice to pair as the secondary to my CR-56 AMAX. I personally don’t use optics on any of my submachine gun classes, but if you prefer to equip one, you could always trade out the recommended 65-round mag in favor of the optic of your choosing.

Recommended Attachments:

  • Muzzle: GRU Suppressor
  • Barrel: 7.4″ Task Force
  • Stock: KGB Skeletal Stock
  • Ammunition: 65-round mag
  • Rear Grip: Serpent Wrap

Best PPSh-41 Loadout

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The classic PPSh-41 returned to Call of Duty with Black Ops: Cold War’s Season 3 battle pass. This submachine gun is unlocked at tier 15 of the battle pass, so you’ll likely want to spend time leveling up the gun to get the best attachments. The PPSh-41 can really deal some damage, and it offers great mobility for those who love to run and gun across Verdansk.

Recommended Attachments:

  • Muzzle: GRU Suppressor
  • Barrel: 15.7″ Task Force
  • Stock: Raider stock
  • Underbarrel: Spetsnaz Grip
  • Ammunition: 55-round drum

Best MP5 Loadout

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Not everyone might agree on the MP5 being as relevant as the Bullfrog or MAC-10, but it’s still a really solid submachine in Warzone. You can use the Cold War or the Modern Warfare version of this submachine gun, as the stats are pretty comparable for both. The Modern Warfare version has slightly better mobility, but Cold War’s MP5 ends up having a slightly faster time-to-kill.

Recommended Attachments:

  • Muzzle: Agency Suppressor
  • Barrel: 9.5″ Task Force
  • Stock: Raider Stock
  • Underbarrel: Field Agent
  • Ammunition: STANAG 50-round Drum

Best Kar98k Loadout

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Modern Warfare’s Kar98k marksman rifle is still Warzone’s top-tier sniper choice in Season 3, so you might already have the right attachments for your playstyle.

Recommended Attachments:

  • Muzzle: Monolithic suppressor
  • Barrel: Singuard Custom 27.6″
  • Laser: Tac laser
  • Optic: Sniper Scope is commonly used, but pick whatever works best for you
  • Stock: STVOL Precision Comb for aiming stability or Sport Comb if you’re looking for faster ADS speed

We could be seeing a lot of the CR-56 AMAX and AK-47 in Call of Duty: Warzone moving forward. When Warzone gets a very definitive meta, it usually sticks around for a long time. Hopefully, the developers will be more proactive with weapon balancing updates in Season 3, something I definitely recommended to help keep Warzone fresh as the seasons progress.

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Xbox Is Crushing It Right Now: Hardware Revenue Jumps By 232%, Total Gaming Revenue Up 50%

Microsoft reported earnings on Tuesday, revealing that Xbox is doing exceptionally well right now from a business perspective following the launch of the Xbox Series X|S and the completion of its acquisition of ZeniMax.

Gaming revenue was $3.53 billion for the quarter ended March 31, which is up a whopping 50% year-over-year. Content and services revenue for Xbox jumped by 34%, thanks to game sales and revenue from Game Pass. Xbox hardware revenue, meanwhile, exploded, posting a 232% year-over-year gain thanks in part to the launch of the Xbox Series X|S.

Analyst Daniel Ahmad of Niko Partners also mentioned that gaming revenue for the past 12 months reached about $15 billion, which is up from $10.3 billion for the 12 months before that. In short, Xbox is posting massively successful numbers right now.

In keeping with tradition, Microsoft did not release any hard sales numbers for Xbox consoles, nor did it provide a new number for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.

Microsoft overall–spanning all business divisions–posted revenue of $41.7 billion (up 19%) and a profit of $15.5 billion (up 44%). That profit is enough to pay for the ZeniMax acquisition twice, just as was the cast last quarter.

“Over a year into the pandemic, digital adoption curves aren’t slowing down. They’re accelerating, and it’s just the beginning,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said. “We are building the cloud for the next decade, expanding our addressable market and innovating across every layer of the tech stack to help our customers be resilient and transform.”

We won’t have to wait long to find out how Sony’s PlayStation business is doing, as the company will report earnings tomorrow, April 28.

Pokemon Go Fest 2021 Set For July 17-18

Niantic’s annual Pokemon Go Fest event will return from July 17-18. Like last year, Pokemon Go Fest 2021 will be a two-day global event that players around the world will be able to participate in.

Niantic hasn’t shared many other details about this year’s Pokemon Go Fest just yet, but the studio teases that it will be a big one since both Pokemon Go and the Pokemon series as a whole are celebrating notable anniversaries.

“What does this year’s event have in store? Well, you’ll just have to wait and see! 2021 marks both the twenty-fifth anniversary of Pokemon and the fifth anniversary of Pokemon Go, so trust us when we say you won’t want to miss Pokemon Go Fest 2021!” Niantic wrote on the official Pokemon Go blog.

Like The Pokemon Company’s 25th anniversary celebration, it appears this year’s Pokemon Go Fest will have some kind of musical theme. Music notes can be seen on the event’s logo, and Niantic teased to “stay tuned” for additional details. These hints could potentially point to the Gen 5 Mythical Pokemon, Meloetta, although nothing has been confirmed yet.

Last year’s Pokemon Go Fest was notable for being the first virtual take on the event. Prior to that, the event was traditionally held in-person at specific venues around the world, including Chicago’s Grant Park, but Niantic had to change gears and turn the event into a global virtual experience in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the meantime, Niantic has a number of Pokemon Go events lined up for May. The studio is introducing the Gen 6 Legendaries Xerneas and Yveltal to the game next month, while May’s Research Breakthrough encounter will be Galarian Ponyta. The next Community Day is also set for May 15, although the featured Pokemon has not been announced yet.

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