Rarely a moment goes by when Mortal Kombat fans aren't baying for fresh meat, and NetherRealm Studios Chief Creative Officer Ed Boon has thrown himself to the wolves for two intensive Q&A sessions with fans. Read on for details & the latest speculation:

The last half decade has seen a more reserved Ed Boon navigate fervent fandom eager to extrapolate every imagined possibility from his words. The micro-blogging maven cautiously sifted through an onslaught of hundreds of replies received in minutes, mostly side-stepping direct questions about a Mortal Kombat 11 sequel, and specific related details.

"We aren't ready to announce our next game" was the consistent mantra, reissued in different ways to answer questions about what the next game will be, what it will contain, when it will be released, and when we'll know more about it.

When asking broadly how development is coming along, one lucky fan managed to coax an intriguing answer from the creative lead: "Good, but we’ve got more than one pot on the stove." Exactly what that means is open to interpretation, with speculation heavily focused on the potential for multiple upcoming releases.

To date NetherRealm Studios has maintained a consistent cycle of development for both the Mortal Kombat and the DC Injustice franchises, with some overlap, and separate mobile game experiences for both. These remain prime suspects for many, with a mysterious PEGI rating for Mortal Kombat Kollection Online still unaccounted for.

A breach of the GeForce Now service revealed place holders for Injustice: Gods Will Fall and Mortal Kombat XII, with a photograph of a Senior Production Manager's desk further fuelling speculation of prospective dual sequels, at the start of the year. MK11 support officially ended July last year, six months after a return to motion capture with no significant subsequent releases.

Giant Bomb reported insider rumors that Mortal Kombat would take precedence amidst uncertainty fuelled by the corporate merging of WarnerDiscovery. In Las Vegas to accept his induction into the AIAS Hall of Fame, Ed Boon cryptically told GameInformer the next project would make sense.

[Related Article: AIAS Announces Ed Boon as Next Hall of Fame Inductee]

Boon recently polled fans on their interest in MK and Injustice sequels, as well as a much talked about Marvel/DC fantasy crossover game. A similar previous poll generated interest in a remake of the 2005 Shaolin Monks adventure game spin-off. Asked about this, and emulation for Mortal Kombat 4, he noted the difficulties of juggling a new major project with the MK and Injustice franchises, despite having discussed it.

You KNOW we’ve talked about this. But its hard to fit in a big project like that and continuing to make our MK and Injustice games. Some day.

— Ed Boon (@noobde) September 24, 2022

Polite reprieve was offered to Smoke and Tremor as die hard fans probed for news about their favourite characters. On the subject of the much-discussed MK Special Forces character, who made his way into Mortal Kombat X DLC and will be seen in the animated MK Legends: Snow Blind, Boon noted, "I’d be surprised if you never saw Tremor appear in one of our future games. But I can’t promise he will be in our next game."

Also uncertain is the inclusion of cross-progression and crossplay for future games, although it's on the table according to the CCO: "We are definitely exploring all that. Can’t promise anything at this point, though." It remains to be seen if multiple games could lead to other compatibility innovations for the genre, as well.

[Related Article: Editorial: The MKvsDC Crossover Nobody Sees Coming]

Although celebrations of next month's 30th Anniversary of the series have largely been left to Boon (and Tobias), the series co-creator did assuage any conspiratory concerns about MK's future: "MK11 was our biggest MK ever. I’d be surprised if we NEVER did another one."

So what does it all mean? Share your theories and hopes for NetherRealm Studios' next game in the comments below. Go even deeper into ideas and speculation in the MK Future forum!

It has been a symbol and beacon of battle since the beginning, rendered in stone and steel, enduring fire and rifts in time itself. The Dragon Logo has been silent witness to it all, and with its thirtieth anniversary upon us, John Tobias has detailed the origins of the famous design that means Mortal Kombat to all who see it! Read on:

The logo designer & series co-creator went deep in a thread posted to Twitter where he shared a recently recovered drawing of the first finished Dragon Logo [pictured below] taken from footage filmed by artist John Vogel for the digitization process. Edited versions appeared in the 1992 classic everywhere from the character select screen, to Shang Tsung's Throne Room arena.

The Throne Room stage also holds in-game renderings of the golden dragon statue that inspired the design [pictured above]. As Tobias explains, "... John Vogel saw a golden dragon statue on the desk of Midway’s general manager, Ken Fedesna. John borrowed it to digitize for use in our game’s backgrounds."

The same statue inspired the design of the arcade cabinet side panel, which in turn informed the design of the dragon logo as Tobias deliberately searched for an iconic image to brand both the game, and the in-fiction tournament. He likens it to "Superman's "S" or Batman's bat...".

The dragon motif suited the Eastern martial arts concept, but as long time fans will know, Tobias had a more literal reason for starting there: "The inspiration to use a dragon as the fictional tournament’s symbol came from "Dragon Attack," which was in contention as our game’s title before [Ed Boon] and I changed it to "Mortal Kombat."" He notes that "Dragon Attack" was itself borrowed from the title of a song on the 1980 Queen album The Game -- one of many musical references to work their into the series.

This tangled web may make it seem as if the finished product were fated to occur, but Tobias reveals the logo almost didn't happen! It was almost "tossed" when his sister mistook the side profile dragon head for a seahorse. His earliest "doodle" [pictured below] shows a more complete dragon dividing the halves of a yin yang symbol in reference to the "balancing of the furies" included in early lore.

Since the home release of MKII it has officially faced right, but the logo was briefly redesigned in 2014 with new details, and adapted & reappropriated many times over as franchise branding, and design motif.

Still the original rendering stands the test of time -- most recently its becoming home decor as a high-price lambs wool rug! What are the strangest things you've found with the symbol on? Share your memories and thoughts in the comments below and go deeper into nostalgia in the 2D Kombat Klassics forum!

The march of time has seen Mortal Kombat: Deception emerge as a fondly remembered chapter in the series' recent history, noteable for some of the most expansive renderings of the many realms. The work of fan-modder has restored one piece that was seemingly lost until now. Take a closer look:

The Katakombs arena has been lying in game files all this time, but requires modification to be accessed. Industrious modder Ermaccer explained his process to MKO, "What I posted is 100% from default game files, only thing I had to do to restore it was to make a file table so that game/map knew what to load."

The results can be seen below, realising an icy chamber decorated with snow, backlit recessed dragon logos, and motionless Lin Kuei warriors -- some seated, with others seemingly arranged in death.

The design sensibility of the Katakombs has been echoed in subsequent appearances of the Lin Kuei Palace in Armageddon and Mortal Kombat X, all seemingly drawing inspiration from the open MK4 Ice Pit arena. The Katakombs can also literally be seen in the background of Sub-Zero's second MK Deception character bio [pictured below].

What do you think of this find? Would you like to see a similar arena return? Share your thoughts in the comments below and go deeper into the recently retro in the 3D Kombat Klassics forum!

Thirty years of Mortal Kombat has seen merchandise of just about every kind, but for the fan who has everything comes a deadly decor option unlike most. At last you can furbish your throne room or personal cave with a Dragon Logo rug just like Shao Kahn. Read on for pre-order info and a closer look:

Unless you're Sub-Zero you might be feeling the chill this winter, and even with the recent release of Mortal Kombat socks, a rug may be in order to keep your tootsies toasty. The 36" x 36" (91.44cm) circular rug is 100% New Zealand lambs wool hand tufted in India with a design approximating the klassic dragon logo - give or take a few minor details.

S-Tier has officially opened up pre-orders for the $250.00 rug as part of their "high quality products based around the arcade era' range, and won't begin production until this period has ended September 23rd. The hand-made merch will then take 3-4 weeks to make, arriving an estimate 12-16 weeks after order.

No doubt this expensive floor covering will pair well with any designer MK logo cushions, or sit proudly at the center of your favourite fighting arena. So will you be walking the dragon's path? Share your thoughts in the comments below and find more wares in the Media & Merchandise forum!

NetherRealm Studios Chief Creative Officer Ed Boon has kicked the hornet's nest with an online poll asking fans what they'd like to see the studio release next. The four options pitted a Mortal Kombat 11 sequel against comic book fighting games, including a much-discussed crossover between DC and Marvel. Read on:

A fantasy match-up between the heroes & villains of publishing & multimedia rivals DC Comics and Marvel unsurprisingly topped the poll with 40.9% of 161,562 registered Twitter votes. A prospective "Mortal Kombat 12" was second, attracting a respectable 27.3% share ahead of Injustice 3 and a hypothetical Marvel title.

Interest in NetherRealm Studios' next project has run rampant since support for Mortal Kombat 11 officially ended in July, 2021. Fans were quick to seize upon clues pointing to the DC Injustice and MK franchises, with insiders claiming a Mortal Kombat sequel will emerge. Ed Boon has assured the developer's next game will make sense, but hasn't come down on any particular side. Johnny Cage voice actor Andrew Bowen has more deliberately teased something new from MK.

What do YOU want to see from NetherRealm studios next?

— Ed Boon (@noobde) September 10, 2022

A video game hosted crossover between DC and Marvel became an unexpected talking point in the last year as Ed Boon indulged interest in the two titanic pop culture brands. The publishers held their first substantial crossover in 1976 with the tabloid-sized Superman vs The Amazing Spider-Man [pictured below], following with a sequel in 1981, and subsequent crossovers involving popular characters from the Batman, Hulk, Teen TItans, and X-Men franchises.

These sporradic meetings eventually culminated with an industry-supporting crossver in 1996's DC versus Marvel/Marvel versus DC four issue mini-series mega-crossver. An event that pitted 11 representatives from each company in one-on-one slugfests decided by 5 key fan polls. Marvel ultimately emerged the victors, enjoying occasional parternships right through to 2004's JLA/Avengers, after which relations became more frosty. A limited edition reprint of JLA/Avengers was recently produced to honor recently departed artist George Perez, and the Hero Initiative.

Mortal Kombat celebrates its thirtieth anniversary next month with a new animated feature on the way. Will a new game emerge, or will it be superheroes that take the developer forward? Share your thoughts & wishes in the comments below and talk more about the future in the Future MK Games forum.

Next month will mark thirty years of Mortal Kombat and it looks as if the apocalyptic collapse of society won't stop its legend continuing -- at least according to The Last of Us Part 1. An MK "easter egg" has found its way into the recently released remake. Take a look:

Eagle-eyed fan account Naughty Dog Central called attention to the reference in a recent Twitter post, showing a Mortal Kombat II poster added to a scene from the 2013 Left Behind downloadable content. The addition fills out the world of the remake, but some are seeing more than verisimilitude. Inspect the image below for the subtle addition:

With a void of news concerning an expected Mortal Kombat game, and lingering uncertainty surrounding the WarnerMedia Discovery merger; some fans have taken to theorizing the reference indicates a more meaningful relationship developing between NetherRealm Studios, and the Last of Us publisher & developers.

Mortal Kombat was reportedly considered for sale in September of 2020, but became an emerging multimedia asset through the success of the film on HBO Max. The streaming platform has undergone highly publicized content changes since the formation of WarnerDiscovery, but there have been no new reports of sale to date.

The pop culture significance of Mortal Kombat has seen it appear in many contexts, including an MK11 easter egg in Cyberpunk 2077, characters in Ready Player One, and the thoughts of other developers. The franchise will return to animation soon: watch the Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind trailer.

[Related Article: MultiVersus Director Asks Fans For Mortal Kombat Characters]

What do you think about the MKII poster appearing in The Last of Us? Share your thoughts in the comments below and dive deeper into retro in the 2D Kombat Klassics forum!