Since being acquired by Warner Brothers, the makers of Mortal Kombat have spent a lot of time thinking about other properties.
After developing the 2008 crossover Mortal Kombat versus DC Universe for Midway; the fighting game developer entered a new era of ownership, and a new decade with Mortal Kombat -- a game packaged with Kratos for PlayStation, and Freddy Kreuger as the first downloadable guest character.
The console exclusives may have ended with Sony's God of War mascot, but the proliferation of horror movie icons has continued. Freddy Kruger's nightmare appearance inveitably led to calls for Friday the 13th rival Jason Voorees. His Kombat Pack appearance opposite Predator - another recipe for the expected arrival of Alien in Kombat Pack 2. Whether or not obscure movie trivia connected the Xenomorph to Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Leatherface by accident, or by design -- the fourth guest in MKX was again a horror icon.
The perpetual fixation with horror movie monsters and slashers may be a tenuous link for the martial arts fighter, but the constant has inspired many calls for NetherRealm Studios to break-off their guests into a separate game for movie maniacs! GameInformer asked Ed Boon about the possibility during an interview at the ESL Season 3 Finals. The Creative Director was well armed to answer the question:
NetherRealm Studios may have moved on to their DC superhero sequel Injustice 2, but they want fans to know they aren't abandoning their 2015 best seller: Mortal Kombat X! Thanks to Warner Brothers, they're putting their money where their collective mouth is - adding $10,000 to the CEO prize total!
In space no one can hear you scream, but scream you will when Alien arrives as part of Kombat Pack 2! In the next Kombat Kast, the developers will turn the spotlight on their fourth and final guest fighter. It goes live today (Thursday 25th) at 4:00CST streaming below:
He's the drunken master of the Mortal Kombat universe - and he's making a playable return in Kombat Pack 2! In the next Kombat Kast, the developers will turn the spotlight on Bo' Rai Cho. It goes live today (Thursday 18th) at 4:00CST streaming below:
Fans voted him the most anticipated new character of Kombat Pack 2! Now Tri-Borg is ready to be the first downloadable character to get out of the rank! Fans can tune in for a special sneak peak from NetherRealm Studios this Royal Rumble Sunday, January 24th!
Mortal Kombat X is still awaiting the imminent release of 2016 Kombat Pack 2 DLC, but it seems NetherRealm Studios may already be making preparations for their next big project!
Job listings for Senior Producer, Associate Designer, Sound Designer and Senior Artist have NetherRealm restocking the team for AAA and mobile development.
The former three openings were posted earlier this month (January 6th), and are all significant roles in the development process. This seems to suggest something major in the pipeline from the Warner Brothers owned studio. This may fuel fans already clamouring for more Mortal Kombat -- especially in the realm of genre spin-offs like Shaolin Monks -- but the signs seem to be pointing in another familiar direction.
If you weren't watching the web last month, you may have missed this bad ass NetherRealm Studios tribute to Avalanche Studios' Mad Max! Check Jax out below:
Three experts - zero nonsense. Start your speculation engines! NetherRealm Studio has released a cryptic live-action trailer to their YouTube channel, asking the question: "Three new reasons to Fight?" Other powers may be at work - but who they are is yet to be revealed in the 37 second video:
