Happy new year! Fans who logged into Mortal Kombat X over the holiday break were treated to seasons beatings from their favourite fighting game via two new seasonal Premier Towers!

In 2016, Mortal Kombat X gets even bigger than before with the arrival of Kombat Pack 2! Announced officially in September: the pack will include new character skins, a klassic arena, and as unveiled last week: four new playable characters!

Revealed during NetherRealm's Best Fighting Game acceptance at The Game Awards 2015: the Kombat Pack 2 character trailer launched as many questions as it answered. The full story won't crystallize until next year, but some preliminary questions can be answered. Here's what we know, so far:

The unveiling of new characters may have been the headline attraction for Mortal Kombat X fans, but the developers had more to celebrate during 2015's The Game Awards - taking 2015 Best Fighting Game!

Ermac and Quan Chi stroll through the forest. Sektor's disembodied head sits quietly alone. A drunken hand reaches up from the floor. A Tarkatan has a nasty tummy ache... These seemingly innocuous events can only be harbingers for new warriors coming to Mortal Kombat X! Scenes featured in a trailer leaked ahead of The Game Awards announcement [full story].

The wait is almost over! Mortal Kombat X will reveal who's next in downloadable content in mere days! It's part of an exclusive reveal to be shown during The Game Awards 2015 live from Los Angeles!

November marks the publication of DC Comics' final issue of the Mortal Kombat X first volume. "Blood Island" wraps up plotlines from throughout the twelve issue maxi-series, restoring the heroes to their natural state in a series of epilogues. Comic Book Resources recently featured a full preview.

NetherRealm Studios Creative Director Ed Boon recently returned en force to micro-blogger Twitter, whipping up a fan frenzy of interest and speculation ahead of the new year!

Most tweets have revolved around the usual general fandom and much lamented abandoned HD remakes [read more] - but amongst the miscellanea: the first definitive hints toward new content in 2016!

Mortal Kombat X newcomers Takeda, D'Vorah, Erron Black and Kung Jin have all been namedropped in nods to new costume skins coming soon to downloadable content!

Officially announced in September [full story]; new Mortal Kombat X DLC is scheduled for an undetermined date in 2016. New playable characters will be the headlining feature [teaser], but purchasable updates will also include fresh character skins and a new arena to stage fights in!

Mark the latter two characters confirmed for new skins, with just a hint of ambiguity around Takeda & D'Vorah. The Pit remains the safe bet based on previous hints, despite graphic assets emerging as part of a Halloween seasonal Premier Tower.

The rivalry has been rekindled ahead of a second season of Electronic Sports League tournament action! The North American Mortal Kombat X Pre-Season Cup came down to a finals pairing familiar to anyone who's followed the MK scene since 2011: 2015 Evo World Champion SonicFox5000 besting 2011/2012 champ PerfectLegend in the online final!

It was a massive turn out for the online tournament, contested over a nearly full 256 fighter bracket! Like all good tournaments, it was do-or-die single elimination, with the final winner claiming a $250 purse. Here's the full rundown:

Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment continues to go from strength to strength with it's two biggest releases of 2015, The Wall Street Journal reports. The success of Mortal Kombat X and Batman: Arkham Knight has seen each game reach milestone sales in excess of five million units globally! It makes the latest instalment of the twenty-three year MK series one of its highest selling ever!