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Mortal Kombat 12 Revealed As Mortal Kombat 1, Releases In September

A new era of Mortal Kombat begins this year.

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Developer NetherRealm Studios has officially revealed Mortal Kombat 1, the next chapter in its long-running fighting game series, which releases in September. It takes on that name, rather than the expected Mortal Kombat 12 name, because--as previous teasers hinted at--Mortal Kombat 1 is a sort-of-reboot of the series and takes place in the New Era timeline established by Liu Kang after he ascended to godhood in 2019's Mortal Kombat 11.

Like previous games, Mortal Kombat 1 will have a story mode, a unique roster of characters, and a new fighting system. You can see more, in the trailer below.

While this new entry has plenty of changes and new ideas, one thing that hasn't changed is the trademark ultra-violence that the series is known for. Just like the previous entries in the series, Mortal Kombat is going all in on gore, blood, and fatalities.

One of the new systems being teased for the game are Kameo Fighters, which will allow you to call in an assist from a fighter on the roster. Kameo Fighters are a unique roster of partner characters to assist you during matches, and these characters are chosen separately from the main roster of fighters.

For the Mortal Kombat 1 roster, NetherRealm has confirmed Liu Kang, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Raiden, Kung Lao, Kitana, Mileena, Shang Tsung, Johnny Cage, and many others. It's worth noting that Tsung will be available as a preorder bonus, and Johnny Cage will have access to a Jean-Claude Van Damme skin through the Kombat Pack DLC. He's what's known as a "Kameo" fighter who can assist players during a match.

For multiplayer, NetherRealm has confirmed that there'll be rollback netcode and players who preorder the game for console can take part in a beta in August.

Mortal Kombat 1 will launch on September 19 for PC, Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, with early access kicking off on September 14 depending on which version of the game you own. The base version will cost $70, and it'll also be available as a $110 Premium Edition, and a $250 Kollector's Edition.

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soiden

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So now we have two games called "Mortal Kombat" and another one called "Mortal Kombat 1". Nice.

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j3DiKNiGHtDAVE

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Edited By j3DiKNiGHtDAVE

In a world of reboots and remasters, this is one of those times I would have been all for a remastered version of the first game that started it all.

I ain't gonna lie, when I first saw the article title, I got a bit excited, but after reading, I became a little deflated.

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Just1MoHr

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@j3diknightdave: Same here. At first I was like finallllyyyyy! And then it was, ohhhh.

I think sooner or later we will get our MK1-4 Ultimate remaster/remix.

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j3DiKNiGHtDAVE

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@just1mohr: I hope your right my friend.

At least 1 thru 3...

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Just1MoHr

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Is every single character here oriental? I miss the old roster!

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USDevilDog

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@just1mohr: It goes without saying: MK's world building was based off of Asian mythologies, mysticism, and martial arts flicks. There's a ton of inspiration from films like Zu Warriors, Bride with White Hair, Great Trouble in Little China, etc. It would actually be weird if the characters weren't predominately Asian. The MK sequels later added more mythologies from other parts of the world like South America, Europe, First Nations, and Egypt, but it remains very Asian-centric.

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Just1MoHr

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@USDevilDog: I already miss the old diverse krowd. I say just add new ones on top.

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USDevilDog

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@just1mohr: I think you will see other characters soon. Since we are now in a new timeline with Liu Kang as an elder god, NetherRealm can bring back all of the characters like Sonya Blade and Jax. I am assuming about 10-15 or so characters haven't been announced yet given that MK11 launched with 25 characters.

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ticktockman1979

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@just1mohr: Bro, Oriental?! Are you serious?

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noodles227

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@just1mohr: Oriental lmao

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MGMZero

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@just1mohr: The Raiden color coating threw me off too. My boy Cage is listed but...now I'm not sure if it will actually be Cage or Kagerin!

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MyCatIsMilk

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Mortal Kombat being the only fighting game I’ve liked, it’s kind of disappointing to be seeing the same cast over and over again. :/ I have the same issue with Pokémon; I want only new Mon, not old.

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PSP107

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I hope they get rid of the Fatal Blow(or at least have it optional)

Not sure about the kameo assist.

It's looks like the story theme is going back to it's roots instead of being a Avenger style movie like MK10/11 was.

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al89lan

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Wow. That trailer takes one heck of a turn!

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StickEmUp

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That trailer was significantly better than the last movie. This looks legit.

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hampton2003

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I'm kind of glad they are continuing with the industry trend of the early launch greed edition, because if the PC port is trash (which historically it usually is), it will give people buying the basic edition more time to cancel their preorder on sites like fanatical before keys get delivered (its not listed there yet, but WB is partnered with fanatical, so I'm assuming it will show up there).

Everything else looks good except we need more info on the krystals currency and the kameo system.

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DaVillain

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DaVillain  Moderator

This is a day-one purchase...but the question is, PC or PS5?

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fester420

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@davillain: Why not both?

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mogan

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mogan  Moderator

@davillain: That, unfortunately, probably depends on how rough the PC port is. : \

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Moistcarrot

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Yep, that titles not going to confuse anyone in the future at all lol

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OldDadGamer

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@moistcarrot: Hey, if we can have Final Fantasy 13, 2 then this is nothing.

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HectorV

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I've only ever played MK11 as it was on sale during the pandemic, and it was fun, the roster was extense. Granted, I didn't understand much of the story so maybe a reboot might bring new players?

Now, if only I could understand the combos and techniques...

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KennyKB

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Damn that's too bad!

Got so excited about an actual Mortal Kombat 1 remake.

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Guavington

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Yucky

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Nasuke1

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Honestly the more I think on it, MK has rebooted multiple times. Why not give people the ability to form fanfic stables and play some what if scenarios controlled by the creatives?

MK is the series of reboots; still it still looks like a bloody good time. Just... don't lock characters behind a pre-order again.

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santinegrete

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@Nasuke1: I think the reboot is tied to the intention of how MK11 ended. I know it is pretty much what The Flash will do, but in the case of MK it wasn't because it grew stale (imo).

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BoobyTrap

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Edited By BoobyTrap

Shut up and take my money! LOL

Great trailer! When is it available for pre-order though? It’s not on the PS store yet.

NVM! Just saw that, at the end of the trailer, it says available for pre-order tomorrow.

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OpenMind23

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Edited By OpenMind23

Looks like a good start, looking forward to seeing more on this one :)

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ThePatrickBynum

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Edited By ThePatrickBynum

Excellent!

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USDevilDog

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Toasty!

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MoogleStar

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Holy hell that was one AWESOME trailer. I hate no gameplay trailers but that was just really well done as an introduction. Very excited for September.

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uninspiredcup

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Mommy Sindel?

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DaVillain

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DaVillain  Moderator

@uninspiredcup said:

Mommy Sindel?

Mileena is in it, so Mommy milky Sindel must be around.

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