• Mortal Kombat 1 is the latest game from NetherRealm Studio and will be another reimagining of the classic franchise which began in 1992.
• The new game features a visual, story and gameplay reboot, the second major one since 2011, with new looks for characters and a new game mode called Kameo Fighters.
• Mortal Kombat 1 will launch worldwide on 19th September 2023, but fans can play the game five days early if they but the Premium Edition.

On Thursday, NetherRealm Studios announced via a trailer their upcoming fighting game, a new Mortal Kombat and another reboot of a franchise that has been a videogame staple since the early 90s.

Instead of Mortal Kombat 12, we’re getting Mortal Kombat 1 with a storyline that seems to follow the previous game, at least in a meta way. In Mortal Kombat 11, Liu Kang assumes godlike powers, as you can see in the new trailer, and uses time-altering magic to reset the Mortal Kombat world in his own vision.

One of peace, apparently, which seems strange for a game famed for its gore (there’s a whole lot of that in the trailer). There are also several little hints or teases in the trailer, narrated by Fire God Liu Kang, about what’s new in the story mode – described by NetherRealm as “Immersive.” They have to do with his new world, and throughout the trailer we can see characters that were once archenemies now willing to work together.

“In my new era,” Liu says, “The choice is yours. Whether to live in quiet serenity or bloody strife.”

This seems like a hint at the game’s storyline. Perhaps the player can choose what will happen with the characters in some way. The trailer definitely hints at a lot more choices, and we hope it will be more than just the “Will you fight with Scorpion or Sub-Zero” branching paths available in the previous story modes.

Overall though, the emphasis is on something “never seen before,” a smart move from the developer to keep a 31 year old franchise fresh.

According to NetherRealm, Mortal Kombat 1 will “introduce a reborn Mortal Kombat Universe that has been created by the Fire God Liu Kang, featuring reimagined versions of iconic characters as they’ve never been seen before, along with a new fighting system, game modes, bone krushing finishing moves, and more.”

In an official FAQ, NetherRealm says, “Mortal Kombat 1 will feature reimagined fighters like they’ve never been seen before, including Liu Kang, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Raiden, Kung Lao, Kitana, Mileena, Shang Tsung, Johnny Cage, and many others.”

Apart from characters, the lore and storyline will also get a reimagining.

To our reckoning, this will be the sixth time that Mortal Kombat is getting an aesthetic overall, with the latest direction – which began in Mortal Kombat 11 – going in a more realistic, wuxia-inspired route, as opposed to the heavy metal themes of the early 2000s and the dark fantasy vibes we got in the last few titles.

It will also be the second major series reboot. The first came with Mortal Kombat (2011), which leveraged Injustice-style fighting and tried very hard to make a series story out of the series’ lore, which includes zombies, centaurs, Japanese demons and a man in motion capture gear.

You can see some of what the classic characters will look like in the new trailer, of which Shang Tsung looks the most different to us, to the point that when he showed up, we were asking ourselves, “Who’s that guy?”

Apart from visual changes and storyline rebooting, gameplay will also be getting “never seen before” updates, including what NetherRealm is calling “Kameo Fighters.” This is basically an assist button, that calls a fighter from offscreen to attack your opponent.

These Kameo Fighters won’t be fully playable, and will instead be cameos of some of the series’ many, many, many kombatants. We would like to see Bo-Rai-Cho as a Kameo Fighter, and maybe Flesh too, but we hope that some fan favourites like Smoke and Reptile aren’t relegated to this and are given fully playable modes.

Nothing much else is known about the in-game modes so far, but we do have a release date.

This is 19th September 2023, which matches what was previously reported. However, you can play the game five days earlier on 14th September, if you buy the Mortal Kombat 1 Premium Edition or Mortal Kombat 1 Kollector’s Edition.

The base version of Mortal Kombat 1 will cost $69.99, or ~R1 350, available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC, including Steam and Epic Games Store.

Meanwhile, the Premium Edition will cost $109.99 (~R2 123,13), which comes with early access as well as a Kombat Pack. This pack features a Johnny Cage character skin with the likeness of Jean-Claude Van Damme (available at launch), early access to six new playable characters (available post-launch), and five new Kameo Fighters (available post-launch).

Finally, the Kollector’s Edition, which retails for $249.99 (~4 825,28) on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, includes the Premium Edition content, early access, and a 16.5-inch Liu Kang sculpture.