For over six years the dedicated team over at Uppercut Editions has tirelessly poured resources into one of the most ambitious fan projects to date. Their Mortal Kombat Encyclopedia Project has showcased what true passion and dedication can entail. The Mortal Kombat franchise has seen many different kinds of memorabilia and licenses throughout its many decades of existence, but one item that has always been missing was a centralized resource encompassing all of the lore and story behind the beloved franchise. The idea of having a coffee table type book detailing every single game, character, and unique facts throughout Mortal Kombat’s history has been a dream for almost every collector.

Other franchises in the video game industry have run with similar books and resources so it has been a shame that something like this hasn’t come along before. What makes this project so unique and special in its own right, really comes down to the team’s determination to make this book a reality. Though various concept books were made available online or offline, they never were able to secure or convince WB Games to back the project in any sort of official capacity.

Taking matters into their own hands they scouted various publishers throughout the last several years and eventually landed with Hagen's Alley, which is already known for successfully backing and publishing other unofficial Nintendo branded video game related books.

At the time of this writing Uppercut had an ambitious Kickstarter goal of $15,000, which was met and exceeded within the hour of its go live date earlier today! We highly encourage fans to jump on this now before it closes, to not lose this opportunity to get their hands on this labor of love from the community. Different tiers are still available, however some of the most exciting options including an impressive Cyrax statue had sold out within minutes of the launch.

Uppercut Editions expects to ship out the Kombat Kompendium to backers in January 2022.

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks has become a viral sensation all thanks to a Twitter poll posted by Ed Boon! The NetherRealm Studios Creative Director asked fans which game they'd like to see remastered and the overwhelming response pushed the game's sub-title into trending topics in the United States! Read on for details:

The 2005 action-adventure spin-off sparked the biggest response from fans who enthusiastically remember its unique adaptation of the klassic Mortal Kombat II storyline & gameplay. At the time of this writing it has an overwhelming 46.9% of the vote -- well over 64,300 of a total 137,261 registered responses!

The original MKII fared the least well of four options with only 10.9% of the vote, while second place went to yet another updated adaptation of the arcade original's plot and mechanics: the 2011 reboot. Coming in a respectable third with 14.1% was Mortal Kombat: Deception -- a game with more to gain from a modern remaster.

Remaster …. ?

— Ed Boon (@noobde) June 3, 2021

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks was the third and most successful example of the franchise expanding into genres other than straight fighting games. Although met with mixed reactions initially, appreciation for its three-dimensional environments and gameplay has grown over the years. Players controlled Liu Kang and Kung Lao through a series of stages inspired by klassic arenas, upgrading elaborate new versions of klassic attacks and even unlocking a host of other playable characters!

No one has done more to keep the flame of the cult title alive more than Ed Boon himself! When Gameinformer asked him about an HD remake in 2019 he responded with an enthusiastic "I wish!". The series co-creator also revealed a screenshot of the original Raiden pitch in 2017. NetherRealm has almost exclusively worked in the fighting game style since, expanding between installments into the DC Injustice franchise.

There have been attempts to revive the iconic arcade klassics with an HD remake, but these have all met dead ends. Photography from new sprite digitization has leaked, as well as interface & concept art from the aborted title. Despite all this, "Mortal Kombat Kollection Online" was unexpectedly rated by PEGI last year.

[Related Article: Feature: The Saga of Mortal Kombat HD]

Which modern remaster would you most like to see -- or would you prefer something new? Share your thoughts in the comments below and dig deeper into retro in the 3D Kombat Klassics and 2D Kombat Klassics forums! You can also get your vote on in the current User Poll as we seek the best character of the here & now in the 2021 Supreme Mortal Kombat Champion tournament!

The simultaneous theatrical & streaming premiere of Mortal Kombat has paid dividends for the HBO Max platform. Third-party metrics called it the most watched programming of the service's first year, and according to a WarnerMedia Executive the film was a stand-out for exceeding expectations. Read on for more detail:

IGN has conducted an interviewed with WarnerMedia Executive Vice President of Growth and Revenue Brad Wilson. He had a lot of corporate-speak to say amidst the uncertainty of a WarnerMedia & Discovery merger, but singled out Mortal Kombat for exceeding expectations for bringing in subscribers who've crossed over into the deeper content library.

Wilson: Mortal Kombat was an interesting title for us, because I will say that while we expected it to do well, we did not expect it to do as well as it did. It's been one of our top assets on the platform. And those customers are now crossing over into watching all the other great titles that we typically see, but also some of the great library content that we have with Friends, The Big Bang Theory, The Sopranos, etc.

Wilson also acknowledges that data collected from viewers informs future programming decisions, and although Mortal Kombat didn't please every diehard fan, its metrics have proven incredibly positive. He also notes the success of movies has challenged conventional wisdom, eschewing the expectation that "movies bring them in and series keep them" with a chain of theatrical releases producing the same result.

There's no official indications of a Mortal Kombat sequel yet, but director Simon McQuoid was quick to discuss ideas, and various actors have begun chasing the baked-in role of Johnny Cage. Rumors are also swirling of a likely animated sequel to Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge.

IGN: When you're looking at how well something like Mortal Kombat performs, how does that impact conversations you might have with the content licensing and acquisitions teams? When you're looking at these kinds of figures, how does that impact how you're thinking about future IP and actively developing more of that specifically for Max?

Wilson: We believe that we're here to share and tell stories and create meaningful, enduring connections. That is a lens by which we start. Do we use that data to inform future programming decisions? The answer is yes. We partner very frequently with Meredith Gertler (manager of content strategy and planning at HBO Max) and her team to talk through what that looks like from all the lanes — kids and family to young adult to scripted and unscripted. These are early days. We're all sort of figuring out the art and science that we lead against. But we're also trying not to deviate from a formula that we know it's been really successful with all original programming in the past.

Live-action series Mortal Kombat: Conquest was added to the streaming service in April along with the other MK films. What have you been watching? Share your HBO Max favourites in the comments below and tell us what you'd like to see next in the Media & Merchandise forum!

A new era is about to begin with the announcement of the Evo Community Series -- an online tournament schedule that's building up to the return of the rebooted 2021 Evo Online Championship! The celebration begins this month with free registration for community events including Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate now open!

The action begins June 10th with the Evo Community Series opening the battlelines up to PlayStation 4 players in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Registration is free but requires all players be 18 and over with an active PS Plus membership for online play.

Running 12 days in total: FGC Arcade: Evo Edition will begin with open qualifiers that lead to short "swiss round" non-elimination rounds that will advance the winner to a professional opponent and a chance to share in a $20,000 prize pool! Mortal Kombat 11 is scheduled to feature on Friday, June 11th & Friday, June 18th.

The Evo 2021 Online Warm-Up tournaments run from June 26th - July 13th and offers players a taste of things to come with a prize pool of $19,000 to go to winners, as well as other PlayStation perks such as themes & avatars. MK11 is scheduled for Tuesday July 8th, Wednesday July 9th, and Saturday, July 12th. All leading up to the big dance August 6th & 13th!

Sony acquired the world's largest fighting game tournament brand earlier this year in March, organizing the online championship event to rebound from last year's cancelled schedule.

Will you be attempting to take on the world? Share your thoughts and goals with us in the comments below and talk tactics & more in the Mortal Kombat 11 and Gameplay & Matchmaking forums! Hone your skills further by following MK Online Fight Klub for more match data and 24 hour streaming kombat!

Iron Studios is taking inspiration from klassic arcade games like Mortal Kombat II to create a new series of iconic collectible statues. The MK Klassic line features several legendary fighters from the first games including the biggest and baddest boss of them all - Shao Kahn! Take a closer look:

For his Mortal Kombat Battle Diorama statue the sculptor has taken inspiration directly from Shao Kahn's original appearance in the background of Kahn's Arena. The Emperor sits in a flared throne of stone, staring coldly out from beneath a skull-shaped helmet with one hand resting on a throne skull, and the other gripping a long sceptre with red gem.

Although seated, Shao Kahn is consistent with the 1:10 scale of the MK Klassic Battle Diorama series. The design peaks at 9.8" high thanks to his staff, 7.8" wide & deep. The throne makes this one a bit heavier than others: 5lbs of hand-painted polystone for a slightly higher than usual $199.99 price.

Shao Kahn is available to pre-order and set to ship sometime this quarter. Other statues in the series include: Goro, Raiden, and Scorpion. Will you be adding the Outworld Emperor to your personal Warrior Shrine?

Tell us what you think of this one in the comments below and check out more gear in the Media & Merchandise forum! While you're there you'll also be able to vote for Shao Kahn and others in this year's Supreme Mortal Kombat Champion character tournament!