NetherRealm Scales Back Mortal Kombat 1 Support

Warner Bros. has officially confirmed the news that Mortal Kombat 1 fans feared following the Definitive Edition's recent launch: no new DLC characters or story chapters will be added to the game.

Despite selling 5 million copies and contributing to the franchise reaching a total of 100 million sales, Mortal Kombat 1 has underperformed compared to its predecessors. Mortal Kombat 11 quickly surpassed Mortal Kombat X's record of nearly 11 million units sold to become the series' best-selling title, reaching over 15 million copies worldwide by 2022.

In a post on the official Mortal Kombat social media account, Warner Bros. acknowledged the likely disappointment, stating, "but our team at NetherRealm needs to shift focus to the next project in order to make it as great as we possibly can."

Warner Bros. did not specify the nature of this new project, but widespread speculation suggests it is Injustice 3, the next installment in NetherRealm's DC-based fighting game series.

The full statement reads as follows:

We are hearing players’ requests for continued game support of Mortal Kombat 1, and, while we will continue to support Mortal Kombat 1 through balance adjustments and fixes, there will not be additional DLC characters or story chapters released from this point on.

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.

The release of the T-1000 guest character in March 2025, arriving a year and a half after Mortal Kombat 1's launch, now stands as the game's final major content update. For comparison, NetherRealm announced in July 2021 that it had begun work on its next project (which became Mortal Kombat 1) and would release no further DLC for Mortal Kombat 11—a decision made two years and three months after that game's release. Today's announcement comes one year and eight months after Mortal Kombat 1's launch.

Players are now revisiting previous comments from NetherRealm Studio's creative chief, Ed Boon, who had assured fans of long-term support. Many are now referencing a September 2024 tweet from Boon, in which he sought to reassure fans who were worried about the studio moving on, stating: “NetherRealm is still fully committed to supporting Mortal Kombat 1 for a long time to come.”

What Will Be NetherRealm Studios' Next Game?

Mortal Kombat 2Injustice 3Something else (let us know what in the comments)

AnswerSee Results

Mortal Kombat 1 experienced a brief resurgence in January with the secret Floyd fight, a pink ninja character developer Ed Boon had teased for years. This sparked a fun, community-wide effort that temporarily revitalized interest in the game. However, this proved to be a rare highlight in what many long-time fans consider an overall disappointing release.

What lies ahead for Mortal Kombat? Parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has signaled that it still sees a future for the gory fighting franchise. In November, CEO David Zaslav stated that on the gaming front, the company intends to concentrate heavily on just four key titles, one of which is Mortal Kombat. The movie adaptation, Mortal Kombat 2, is scheduled for release later this year.