Mortal Kombat 1 Definitive Edition is available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2. Along with the base game, the Definitive Edition release also includes Kombat Pack, Kombat Pack 2, and the Khaos Reigns story expansion. Kameo fighters that were released as DLC—Tremor, Khameleon, Janet Cage, Ferra, and Mavado—are also available in the bundle.

Other additions include a Jean-Claude Van Damme skin for Johnny Cage, 1,250 Dragon Krystals, Tournament Liu Kang skin, an instant unlock for Havik, the Kameo Unlock Pack, Shang Tsung as a playable fighter, and all of the Khaos Reigns pre-order skins.

The new movie-based skins come a year after NetherRealm Studios had announced that it would not be working on any more story or character DLCs for Mortal Kombat 1, with the studio directing its efforts on its next major project.

More recently, studio boss Ed Boon had confirmed that NetherRealm wants to return to the Mortal Kombat franchise at some point. However, he couldn’t reveal any more details at the risk of getting into trouble.

“We’re definitely pursuing another Mortal Kombat game, and we’re definitely doing more, as well, so there are a lot of parts on the stove, not just with games, though, with other forms of media and whatnot. So, we’ve got a lot of great announcements that are coming,” he said.

A report from May 2025 has indicated that the studio’s next project might be a brand new entry in its superhero fighting game series, Injustice. However, more recent rumors have indicated that, while it will still feature DC’s superheroes, the studio is looking to move away from the Injustice brand.

The most recent entry in the Injustice franchise was the second game, released in 2017 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. After wrapping up its post-launch support, NetherRealm Studios had focused its efforts on the Mortal Kombat franchise, with Mortal Kombat 11 coming to PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S in 2019, and Mortal Kombat 1 coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in 2023.

Interestingly, Boon had also spoken about working on Mortal Kombat 1 so that NetherRealm Studios could bring in more improvements to its game engine. Noting that COVID-19 led to the studio being more careful with employee safety, he said that the studio eventually decided to make one more Mortal Kombat before potentially working on an Injustice game.

Mortal Kombat 1 has proven to be quite successful, having sold 8 million copies. However, it couldn’t reach the heights of its predecessor—Mortal Kombat 11—which had sold 15 million copies as of 2022.

Interestingly, however, he noted that, along with another Mortal Kombat game, NetherRealm Studios is also working on other projects, saying that the studio has “a lot of parts on the stove” and seemingly hinting at transmedia aspirations, where its stories are told outside of video games.

“We’re definitely pursuing another Mortal Kombat game, and we’re definitely doing more, as well, so there are a lot of parts on the stove, not just with games, though, with other forms of media and whatnot. So, we’ve got a lot of great announcements that are coming,” he said.

The previous entry in the Mortal Kombat franchise was 2023’s Mortal Kombat 1. The title saw a decent amount of success, with the studio confirming last month that it had sold 8 million copies. However, its predecessor, 2019’s Mortal Kombat 11, was quite a bit more successful, having hit 15 million sales as of 2022.

After releasing a host of DLC characters for the title, including the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the studio announced in May 2025 that it had turned its attention to other projects, and as a result, was done with post-launch content for the fighting game.

“We understand this will be disappointing for fans, but our team at NetherRealm needs to shift focus to the next project in order to make it as great as we possibly can,” said the studio in a social media post.

Mortal Kombat 1 served as a soft reboot for the entire franchise thanks to the events of Mortal Kombat 11 and its Aftermath DLC. Set in the New Era created by Liu Kang—now Fire God and Keeper of Time—the game tells the story of Shang Tsung slowly discovering that the universe had conspired against him.

In terms of gameplay, Mortal Kombat 1 also brought in a radical shift from its predecessor, leaving behind many of its features like custom movesets in favor of a back-to-basics approach as seen in Mortal Kombat 9. It also introduced Kameo Fighters—assist characters that can help extend combos or even perform unique fatalities. For more details, check out our review of its launch version.

As for what its non-Mortal Kombat project might be, a recent rumor has indicated that NetherRealm Studios might be moving away from the Injustice branding for its superhero fighting game. The decision wouldn’t surprise many, since the last entry in the Injustice franchise was 2017’s Injustice 2. Almost an entire decade removed from the fighting game, the studio may likely tap into other DC comic storylines, like the ongoing Absolute Universe, or even its DC KO crossover series.

Referring to a post of theirs from May 2025, MultiverSusie once again took to social media to write that, “I think it’s time we move on from the Injustice branding, maybe.”

The original Injustice games revolved around an alternate universe where Superman became evil and decided to take over the world, prompting superheroes like Batman to team up with their mainline universe counterparts to bring him down. Widely praised for its single-player content as well as a strong roster of characters, the 2013 fighting game would get a sequel in 2017, continuing the story and also bringing in even more additions to the roster, as well as more single-player content.

Thanks to their strong emphasis on narrative, both Injustice titles got DC comic tie-ins that would further expand on the story and even bring in characters that weren’t involved with the games themselves. However, with almost ten years having passed since the release of the last Injustice game, NetherRealm Studios might be looking forward to setting its new DC superhero fighting game in a new setting.

Interestingly, for a potential new Injustice-styled fighting game, NetherRealm Studios has quite a few options to choose from, including the critically-acclaimed Absolute Universe, which has been well-regarded for its storytelling, character reimaginings, and even the level of violence that has often been rare in mainstream American comics.

It is worth noting that, earlier this week, a Warner Bros. Games artist’s resume indicated that they were involved in the development of Injustice 3. While they didn’t reveal too many details about their work on the project, some attached screenshots indicated two unannounced games – Hogwarts Legacy 2 and Injustice 2 – both having “TBD” next to their titles. Since this means that those game titles aren’t set in stone yet, this could be yet another strong indicator that the new fighting game might not be Injustice 3 after all.

While the studio hasn’t officially confirmed that it has been working on a brand new Injustice game, studio boss and game director Ed Boon had spoken about wanting to make Mortal Kombat 1 before a new entry in the superhero fighting game series in order to first work on upgrades to the development team’s tools.

“We did go to a new graphics engine,” Boon said in an interview back in 2023. “We really wanted to be careful with COVID and all that stuff, and everybody staying safe. So there were a bunch of variables involved that eventually made us realize, ‘Okay, let’s do another Mortal Kombat game, and hopefully we’ll get back to the Injustice games.’”

The last release by NetherRealm Studios was Mortal Kombat 1 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. While it sold 8 million copies as of last month, the studio had confirmed in 2025 that it will not get any more story DLC or characters, with the development team being focused on its next project.

Without divulging anything about their responsibilities, the attached screenshot mentions two unannounced titles, Hogwarts Legacy 2 (which WB Games already confirmed is in development) and Injustice 3. The latter two have “TBD” next to their titles, seemingly indicating that their final names are still pending.

While it remains to be seen when NetherRealm or WB Games will announce it, Injustice 3 could arrive after Mortal Kombat 1’s end of support sooner than expected. Studio head and director Ed Boon said in June 2023 that he was focusing on upgrading to Unreal Engine 4. If the studio had pursued Injustice 3 immediately after Mortal Kombat 11, it would have taken longer.

“We did go to a new graphics engine. We really wanted to be careful with COVID and all that stuff, and everybody staying safe. So there were a bunch of variables involved that eventually made us realize, ‘Okay, let’s do another Mortal Kombat game, and hopefully we’ll get back to the Injustice games.'”

With all that work in place, it wouldn’t be surprising if Injustice 3 launched next year. Given the highs and lows of Mortal Kombat 1, which sold eight million copies but received criticism for the monetization, Invasions mode, and the direction of storytelling. Check out our thoughts on that, and why Mortal Kombat 11 ultimately ended up surpassing it, despite the overarching combat being superior.

Granted, it’s still nowhere near Mortal Kombat 11’s sales (over 15 million as of 2022), nor has it been remembered as fondly. However, it remains one of the most successful fighting games currently available, with its closest competitor, Street Fighter 6, selling over six million units as of November 2025.

Before announcing the end of content updates and no more DLC characters, NetherRealm released the T-1000 from Terminator 2 as a playable character. Madam Bo was also added as the final Kameo Fighter to a positive reaction. If that wasn’t enough, Floyd, a clear reference to the band Pink Floyd, would be added as a hidden fighter.

What’s next for NetherRealm? It’s currently busy with its next project, but there’s been no indication as to what it could be. Rumors have pointed to Injustice 3, based on the DC Universe, with the last title launching in January 2017. As for when it could be revealed, your guess is as good as ours. Stay tuned for further updates in the meantime.

A new balance patch is also live, which adjusts numerous Kombatants, including Havik, Kenshi, Li Mei, Liu Kang, Rain, Reptile, Shang Tsung, and even DLC fighters like Omni-Man, Ermac, Conan the Barbarian and Homelander. If that wasn’t enough, Kameo Fighters such as Frost, Darrius, Jax, Goro, Stryker, Sektor, Sub-Zero, Mavado, Tremor, and more have seen adjustments.

Check out all the changes in the video below. Boon said that the team is committed to making this “our most balanced game,” so further balance changes and hotfixes could be due later. Stay tuned for updates.

Mortal Kombat 1 is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch. NetherRealm announced last May that it wouldn’t receive any more characters or story DLC as it focuses on its next project (rumored to be Injustice 3).

The trailer also showcases some of the features of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection, such as the fact that all games in the collection will feature support for online multiplayer with rollback netcode, allowing for smooth multiplayer experiences without having to worry too much about lag causing your inputs to miss. The trailer also gives us a glimpse at some of the classic Mortal Kombat games that will be available through the Legacy Kollection, be it the original Mortal Kombat, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, or even the first 3D game in the franchise – Mortal Kombat 4.

A Kollector’s Edition has also been confirmed for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2. This includes the game itself, along with goodies like the Premium Kollector’s Box, a hardcover art and lore book, a pin set featuring Sub-Zero and Scorpion, commemorative arcade tokens with an acrylic display stand, and a controller holder in the shape of Goro’s original stop motion figure. It is worth noting that the PC version only comes with a Steam code for the game, while the other versions will come with discs.

Some of the games available in the Legacy Kollection will also have different variations available to play. For example, the Mortal Kombat Trilogy will also be available in the collection, which offers up different variations on the first three Mortal Kombat games. While the differences are miniscule at best, they can sometimes end up offering different gameplay or even improved visuals, and sometimes even different rosters. For context, some games will even have their Game Boy Advance versions available.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection was first unveiled back in June, with the still-incomplete list of games part of the collection including Mortal Kombat (1992), Mortal Kombat 2 (1993), Mortal Kombat 3 (1995), Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1995), Mortal Kombat 4 (1997), Mortal Kombat Advance (2001), Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002), and Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition (2003).

The overall project is being handled by Digital Eclipse, which last made a name for itself thanks to its release of Atari 50, which turned out to be a critically-acclaimed celebration of Atari’s history, including some games from even its first consoles. The company also has gotten a reputation for including quite a few behind-the-scenes details in fun, interactive ways. These can range from simpler things like concept art, to even old footage of the development of these games, and even interviews from developers in modern times. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection will similarly feature interviews from the original development teams behind the games, including Ed Boon, John Tobias, John Vogel, and Dan Forden.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection doesn’t yet have a release date. A rumour from back in July, however, indicated that it might come out on September 29.

In development for Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2, the Legacy Kollection includes several classic titles in the series. Even the more niche Mortal Kombat Advance, Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition, and more are included. Of course, it also features options like instantly unlocking all secrets, rollback netcode for online multiplayer, and interviews with industry legends like John Tobias, Dan Forden, Ed Boon, and more.

Digital Eclipse hasn’t officially confirmed a release date yet, but it could announce one soon. The Legacy Kollection will be at EVO 2025, from August 1st to 3rd, or Gamescom 2025, either on August 19th at Opening Night Live or from August 20th to 24th during the trade show. Stay tuned for more updates in the meantime.

It’s a shame in many ways, but especially when you look back to 2019 when a title called Mortal Kombat 11 hit. And what a glorious period it was.

Maybe it was at The Game Awards 2018 when the first trailer hit and we watched Dark Raiden battling Scorpion, the former absolutely demolishing the latter after a bone-crunching duel. Then a new challenger appeared and it was…Scorpion? What followed was an extravagant execution and the words, “You’re next” (alongside a teaser for the new big bad).

As it turns out, the story set-up dwarfed anything we had seen in previous Mortal Kombats – more so than stopping Onaga or Shao Kahn. This time, the forces of Earthrealm were up against a Titan, Kronika, who controlled time. Having gone a little too power mad, she decided the time was right to restart the timeline and herald a new era.

Heroes and villains were in a pretty complicated spot. Between Dark Raiden and his machinations, Liu Kang, Kung Lao and Kitana being Revenants, and so on. Kronika further muddled things by bringing their past versions to the present. Johnny Cage had to deal with his past self, which really showcased how far the character has progressed; the original Raiden effectively removed his dark variant from the timeline; the Cyber Lin Kuei was starting back up; and, perhaps best of all, Shao Kahn was back and as brutal as ever.

The highlights only escalated from there, whether it was Liu Kang and Raiden finally reconciling their differences and finding a way to coexist, Kitana overcoming past demons and achieving her destiny, Scorpion and Sub-Zero teaming to dispense the Cyber Lin Kuei, and, of course, the penultimate battle. And who could forget that launch trailer with a modernized version of Techno Syndrome from the first Mortal Kombat? Granted, the boss fight against Kronika wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and she wasn’t the best-written villain per se, but when it was all said and done, it felt like Mortal Kombat had truly culminated years and years of history in epic fashion.

On the gameplay side, there were other issues, specifically with the amount of grinding involved in the Towers of Time and The Krypt. Players quickly realized that they could use an AI version of Noob Saibot with the best moves and leave it to farm the Towers overnight for enough currency. NetherRealm eventually fixed this and reduced the grinding while also revamping some of the Towers’ challenges to feel less frustrating. And it’s a good thing because, as far as unlockables go, the Krypt was simply fantastic, offering an explorable space with secrets, Easter eggs and cool references. Towers also provided some fun single-player content, including the Klassic Towers that mimicked the Arcade Mode of older titles and offered different conclusions depending on who defeated Kronika.

As for the actual combat, opinions remain a bit mixed, leaning towards the positive. Mechanics Fatal Blows worked similarly to X-Ray Moves, though they were more like comeback mechanics, but Krushing Blows added a new degree of brutality to special moves. The overall speed had dropped massively compared to Mortal Kombat X and Breakaway, which allowed for escaping air combos and gaining armor as your character dropped. Depending on who you asked, it was either an annoyance or the worst mechanic in the series to date.

Nevertheless, the overall system is robust enough and offers a good amount of enjoyment once you’ve mastered the fundamentals. Kustom Variation was also a nice system, allowing one to customize move sets for characters to their liking. The fact that this was decoupled from gear also made it significantly better than Injustice 2’s Gear system.

That being said, Mortal Kombat 1 is considered better in terms of actual combat and mechanics, striking a strong balance between speed and combo potential. The Kameo Fighters added some interesting dynamics and extensions, but didn’t exactly light the world on fire. On top of having to master more than one character for fights (because they weren’t optional), they were considered an ill-fitting addition in a series geared towards 1v1 fights.

It is a new era, though – one with new beginnings…sort of. Leaving aside the absolute cluster of the finale, the story itself was received well, and it was nice seeing the world and its characters in a different light. But after the conclusion of Mortal Kombat 11, the stakes weren’t anywhere near as insane (and none of this matters much anyway once the multiverse shenanigans began). The Krypt was also gone, and Invasions felt completely superfluous with its challenges and super armor-touting enemies, despite offering a neat concept.

However, perhaps the biggest fundamental difference between the titles is their overall level of polish, at least at launch. Mortal Kombat 1 felt far buggier – the Player 1 advantage was a whole rigmarole unto itself – and the monetization felt excessive. Perhaps because of these reasons, it sold only five million plus copies about two years after its launch.

Mortal Kombat 11 sold over 15 million copies, and to be fair, it was available on more platforms over a longer period. But the sheer hype surrounding the franchise was palpable – fans had waited years for a follow-up, and the concept of progressing through a timeline reset by Liu Kang was intriguing. It had everything in terms of marketing and hype, and while selling over five million copies isn’t terrible, a third of its predecessor’s sales by this point is a significant drop.

Now that both titles have effectively concluded their post-launch support, it’s easy to look back and appreciate just how much better Mortal Kombat 11 really was. It also highlights the perils of making a sequel, especially in such a long-running franchise. You could pack in the greatest graphics, the sleekest gameplay, award-winning voice actors and dozens of hours of content, and still slip up. This can happen to several different franchises, especially as budgets grow and developers attempt to reach the largest possible audience. Very few have the burden of NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat series, though.

It’s not just a blockbuster triple-A title that millions of people want to play. It’s also an illustrious fighting game series with extensive lore. Even with all the reboots and resets, Mortal Kombat still commands attention in a way that many other fighting games simply can’t. The benefits of being so well known collide with the expectations of constantly one-upping itself in terms of story content. On the other hand, FGC fans can simultaneously have wildly different opinions about what constitutes good gameplay and mechanics while also uniting on truly awful things. Catering to all these different people will always be challenging, and while I don’t think Mortal Kombat 1 ended up a terrible game, it’s definitely a step down from Mortal Kombat 11.

The series has seen a resurgence of sorts, thanks to the latest trailer and details for the Mortal Kombat 2 film, which seems like a massive improvement compared to the 2021 film. In a way, it indicates the long-term appeal of Mortal Kombat – of seeing these characters, presented in different ways but still paying loving homage to the originals. Whether the next game manages to fill that void or not – and judging from the rumors, it’s going to be a while before we find out – here’s hoping that NetherRealm cracks the code and offers a follow-up that both new and long-time players can enjoy.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Yves Lachance has been promoted to senior vice president of development for Warner Bros Games Montreal, where the studio will work on games based on Game of Thrones and Harry Potter. NetherRealm, headed by vice president of development Shaun Himmerick, will continue to work on Mortal Kombat games. Warner Bros. Games New York, on the other hand, will be headed up by Steven Flenory as vice president of central tech and services, as well as central tech and services. The studio will focus on QA, user research, and customer service.

The trio will work directly under Warner Bros Discovery’s CEO of global streaming and games, J.B. Perrette. Internally, teams working on production and tech will report to Lachance and Himmerick. The publishing division at WB Games will continue to be under Perrette.

“Our company is home to some of the biggest franchises in the world, and we are optimizing our team structure to develop long-term franchise roadmaps to delight players and fans of Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat and DC games,” Perrette said about the move. “We are very fortunate to have a strong stable of development and technology talent, and Yves, Shaun, and Steven are respected leaders with excellent track records in their areas of expertise. I’m looking forward to working closely with them and the team as we work to make the best games possible for our key franchises.”

Back in March, Warner Bros. had reaffirmed this plans to focus on its big four franchises in a letter to its shareholders. According to the company, it wants WB Games to “refocus our resources and capital on proven IP and games from proven, world-class studios.”

“As we have previously said, 2024 was a disappointing year for our Games business, and we have recently announced a restructuring plan to refocus our resources and capital on proven IP and games from proven, world-class studios,” wrote the company in the letter. “We are focusing our Games business around four tentpole franchises that have each generated over $1 billion in consumer sales in past years: Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat, and DC – particularly top tier characters like Batman.”

Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav had first spoken about this plan to focus on Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat, and DC back in November 2024. Talking about the company’s relatively bad year in the gaming market, Zaslav also spoke about how the gaming division at Warner Bros. will bounce back.

“We’re through some of the worst — and it hasn’t been pretty on the gaming business — but we have four games that are really powerful and have a real constituency that loves them, and we’re going to focus on those four primarily,” he said. “We’re going to go away from trying to launch 10, 12, 15, 20 different games. I think we have a real chance now with focus to have the gaming business be steadier.”

“We have four strong and profitable game franchises with loyal, global fans: Hogwarts Legacy, Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, and DC, in particular Batman. We are focusing our development efforts on those core franchises, with proven studios to improve our success ratio.”