In interviews conducted by VideoGamer.com and Gametrailers.com respectively, series co-creator Ed Boon mentioned the possible total of playable characters for the upcoming Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. No true total is confirmed as of this moment, but currently the range expected is somewhere between 20 to 22, 10 or 11 from each side respectively. Regardless, this is obviously a drastic reduction from MK: Armageddon but more akin to earlier 3D MK games. These characters are what Ed Boon and the MK team consider notable and "iconic", so that still leaves the fans to debate exactly what the definition of that is. As another note, it is also confirmed there will be no new characters introduced into the MK world during this game.

First, from Videogamer.com's interview:

In is a vastly reduced playable character roster ("Every single character is a known DC character, a known MK character. Because they're so iconic, we don't feel like we want to do the huge, massive roster. We just focus in on these core 20 characters").

Ed's response to Gametrailers.com video interview:

Ed Boon: ... so it is going to be about... if I were to guess about 20 to 22 characters... you know, maybe 10 to 11 from each side...

Other than this, no major revelations are had that aren't covered by any of the other interviews and released information from Gamer's Day. The discussion regarding the gameplay once again promises it to be completely new and not based off the old engine, and instead focuses on different types of gameplay perspectives. Storyline details remain scarce.

To read the VideoGamer.com interview in its entirety, click here.

To watch the Gametrailers.com interview in its entirety, click here.

Thanks to chat/forum members Marcus_Fenix and for the leads on this story!

During the 2008 Midway Gamer's Day event, the official site for the upcoming game was launched. As revealed by the Sub-Zero vs. Batman promo image, the site is titled http://www.worldscollide.com/ and currently features the said image as its background. Lighting and thunder, accompanied by ambient music is present as well.

Obviously, the site does not offer much at this time but we should expect media to be added to this site at various points throughout the year, leading up to the release of the game. Currently, one can download the first official trailer as well as the first official image, and sign up to be notified when updates occur.

Much like MK: Armageddon's official site, this site too offers a "secret menu" of sorts. You gain access to this menu by clicking on Sub-Zero's eye, thus the name of this menu is "Eye of the Storm". At this time, the page is occupied by 16 question mark boxes. If this menu functions as its predecessor, content will be added into the slots at some point. When this occurs, we will of course provide updates, so keep a watchful eye out for this.

It's that time of year again! I'm out in beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada, where Midway Games held their annual Midway Gamers Day! Of course, the big news this year was the revelation that the first Mortal Kombat game of the current generation of consoles is to be a crossover game with the characters of DC Comics, in a game appropriately titled Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. While the game was not presented in any sort of playable form, we were given some information about the game.

During the presentation portion of the evening, Ed Boon gave a short presentation regarding MK vs DC. The presentation included the game's teaser trailer and a short bit of current information concerning the game.

• Ed Boon Presentation

Among the tidbits of information Ed gave during the presentation are:

• The only currently confirmed characters are Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Batman, and Superman.
• The game, as had been announced previously, will use Unreal Engine 3.
• The storyline for the game will be written by comic book veterans Jimmy Palmotti (Monolith, 21 Down, Painkiller Jane) and Justin Gray (Jonah Hex, Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Bludhaven, JLA Classified).

The teaser trailer was also made available. Not much was shown gameplay-wise, other than Sub-Zero and Batman fighting each other in a multi-tier environment (complete with fighting while falling between levels).

• Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe Trailer

After the presentations were over, during the evening portion of the event, I got a chance to talk to Ed Boon on-camera about Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. We've made the interview available for download in both Quicktime video format and MP3 format.

• Ed Boon Interview (Audio)
• Ed Boon Interview

During the interview with Ed, we were able to glean a few additional details about the game.

• Whether or not the storyline will be considered "canon" in regards to the main Mortal Kombat storyline has not been decided. Such a decision will probably not be made until the next Mortal Kombat game.
• While the game will have finishing moves of a sort and will have a dark and gritty setting and storyline (Ed specifically referenced Batman Begins and The Dark Knight), they are pushing for a hard T rating, hoping to get as close as they can to M without actually reaching it.
• The development team knows that the idea is not popular with the fans and expected a backlash. They're hoping to show that the idea can and will work.
• There should be a playable build by the time E3 comes around.

Finally, Midway has made available a press release announcing Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. While it is dated for Monday, we're going to go ahead and make it available to read. You can read the full press release here.

It has been a landmark day in the Mortal Kombat community, not to mention a very controversial one. We will continue to cover this game in the weeks and months ahead, and when we learn more, we'll be sure to report it here. From Las Vegas, this is D'Arque Bishop.

Today, Midway Games confirmed what had been rumored for a while: the first next-generation Mortal Kombat title, up until now called "Mortal Kombat 8" by the community, is officially titled Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. As the title suggests, it will be a crossover with the characters and setting of DC Comics. Further information about the game should be forthcoming.

In the meantime, a source within Midway sent us this image, which is the first promotional image from Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe; it features two of the characters from the game: Sub-Zero and Batman.

Stay tuned; as we're able to provide more information, we'll be bringing this news to you.