Netherrealm has been dropping hints regarding its upcoming Mortal Kombat game in development for the past few weeks. Fulling the clues, we initially thought these clues were talking about Mortal Kombat 12. However, thanks to the most recent tease, it looks like the next game in the series will be a reboot. Adding to this, Twitter leaker billbil-kun has revealed a bit more regarding the upcoming game, now called Mortal Kombat 1.
According to billbil-kun, the next game is indefinitely a reboot of the Mortal Kombat franchise. It will only be available for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, and PC. Interestingly, that this would be coming to the Switch, as most fighting titles have skipped the platform due to developers not wanting to compromise the game. That and the Switch is hardly considered a current-generation console.
There will also be several versions of the game:
- The Standard edition ($69.99) PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch ($59.99)
- The Premium edition ($109.99).
- The Kollector’s edition ($249.99) PS5, Xbox Series X|S. It’s reported that this will be a physical edition only.
There are other rumblings that Mortal Kombat 1 will be released in September 2023, with more teases to come. As for when the official reveal will be, my money is it taking place during EVO 2023. What better stage than to announce the next Mortal Kombat game on the biggest fighting game tournament in North America, or the world for that matter? Though, there’s still a chance that Mortal Kombat 1 will be revealed during the 2023 Games Summer Fest, which is, for all purposes, the E3 replacement.
How did we get here?
While the talk of a reboot seems far-fetched for some, those who played the final Mortal Kombat 11 DLC, Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath, will know there is more to the story that played out in the base game. Following the events of Aftermath, there are two endings, and it was left up to the players to assume which was canon.
The first ending is where Fire God Liu Kang defeats Shang Tsung, goes back in time, and starts to train Great Kung Lao for the events to come. In the other ending, an empowered Shang Tsung conquers Outworld, Earthrealm, and Netherrealm, with Chaosrealm and Orderrealm being next on the list.
With the recent teases of the hourglass running out of sand, with the final grain of sand exploding in what looks like a creation of a new universe or timeline. The clock skips the 12th hour, which would indicate Mortal Kombat 12, and jumps to the 1st hour (Mortal Kombat 1). This hourglass is the very same one that belonged to Kronika, the antagonist of Mortal Kombat 11, who wanted to rewrite history again. That last part is important, as Kronika has restarted the Mortal Kombat timeline multiple times already.
If Mortal Kombat 1 follows the Lui Kang ending, this all starts to make sense. Lui Kang goes back in time to train with Great Kung Lao, the first Earth Realm defender in the Mortal Kombat tournament. You have to imagine that Lui Kang will tell him about the future so he is prepared. For those who didn’t know, when Great Kung Lao defeated Shang Tsung and was supposed to “Finish Him,” he chose not to. Imagine how things would have played out if he had done so.
So, in this instance, Lui Kang is doing precisely what Kronika has done; reset the Mortal Kombat timeline. As for what’s in store for Mortal Kombat 1, is anyone’s guess. Will we see the original cast make a return? Or perhaps we’ll see new characters in their places. One thing is for sure, Mortal Kombat 1 will present some changes that fans of the series may not be ready for.
