Before anyone gets too excited - we're just gonna come right out with it: We don't think this is concept art for the in-production Mortal Kombat X. That said - it doesn't mean we can't still call attention to this amazing piece of Ermac "fan art" by Bernard Beneteau!

After 20 years as a successful franchise, its the sequel to the eponymous Mortal Kombat that many still regard with fondest memories. For fans who live and bleed Mortal Kombat, however, the tournament-centric original can never be completely forgotten. Such is the dedication of a focused group of industrious fans, who've applied themselves to independently designing and developing a playable revamp of the original dubbed: Mortal Kombat HD.

Determined by consensus; the objective of Mortal Kombat HD was to create a slavishly complete, high definition remake of the 1992 arcade classic. Built from the ground up, using popular 2D freeware engine MUGEN as a playable base and 3D models -- the project would be made of all original resources, designed to imitate the original as exactly as possible. Therein would lie the problem, however, leading to an effective shutdown of any intention to release a working product, rendered by Warner Brothers late last week.

While the enthusiasm of fans may lead them to desire otherwise, Warner Brothers' position represents an open and shut case. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it's also a self-evident example of copyright and trademark infringement. Exceptions may exist at the prerogative of intellectual property owners who choose to overlook infringements, but they are always within their rights to shut down unlicensed fan projects.

On the surface, this would appear to be an effective end to the MKHD fan game as it was intended. To release any playable version to the public would be to court personal ruin. No fan will play it. Much less clear, however, is the exact motivation for Warner Brothers' intervention. While there is broad intellectual property protection and brand management to consider -- there is an extensive history behind MKHD.

It was a fortnight ago Mortal Kombat Online was among the first sources to reveal Jim Lee's concept art for Scorpion! The Facebook first post proved popular with the extended MKOmmunity, even as controversy over guest characters continued in the build to Evo 2013.

The Mortal Kombat icon made the leap to Injustice: Gods Among Us in a June announcement [see trailer]. It garnered mixed response as the third of four character additions via the DLC Season Pass. The unique design by DC Comics' co-publisher and veteran artist, Lee, proved just as divisive as the inclusion itself. Examine the look further in the images below [click to enlarge].

The flurry of sight and sound continues as Injustice: Gods Among Us rolls along the promotion cycle toward an April 16 release! The Injustice Facebook has added to a growing gallery of concept art and previews, showcasing this weeks Battle Arena contestants: Flash, Captain Marvel, Joker & Lex Luthor!

Mortal Kombat may be brand new to the PlayStation Vita this month [full story], but the reboot title officially celebrated its first anniversary at the end of April!

Adding to the continuing retrospective; Atomhawk Design have released a follow-up wave of concept resources, expanding the gallery of their contributions to the hugely successful title with images of Kintaro, The Armory, Goro's Lair, Evil Monestary and the apocalyptic vista from Sonya Blade's ending!

With a long and storied history of humor characters and discarded near-misses, April 1st seemed like an appropriate time to take stock of some of the kombatants who nearly rejoined the franchise in its most recent iteration. Afterall, April officially marks the first anniversary of the game that relaunched the franchise, in 2011!

EDIT (Apr. 2): Did we fool you? Of course not, you're far too brilliant for that! You've gotta admit, we made it easy for you, this year. Thanks to Pedro Cruz for his involvement in our annual fooly fool. Make sure you don't miss our lookback at some of the classic fake characters and April Fools in our latest feature article! See you next year!

In an exclusive reveal for Mortal Kombat Online, NetherRealm Studios have provided design sketches for four characters who nearly made it in, but were omitted in the eleventh hour. They represent all tiers of the new and old -- unused fan-favourites, a long rumored joke character, and a brand new fighter, never before seen. Don't get too discouraged, either.

WB Assistant Community Manager, Elisa Profillo, advises that while there is no official announcement to be made yet, copies of Mortal Kombat and the recent Komplete Edition [released Feb. 28], are both able to support mutually available downloadable content.

The official website for Mortal Kombat has just been revealed!

After being prompted to choose your character from the selection - Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Mileena, Shao Kahn and Raiden, You are taken to their individual pages which showcase a Render and a small Biography of your chosen warrior! Whilst nothing entirely new is present yet. You can see what appears to be Scorpion's Lair from MK3 as Scorpions background image along with The Bell Tower art and a 6th characters silhouette who has yet to be unlocked.

Recently, Mortal Kombat series co-creator and project lead Ed Boon has been bitten by the Twitter bug. Due to Ed's plentiful updates with Mortal Kombat information as well as images, this thread is being created to house all the material in one, convenient location for the fans to easily access. With each new image added, this topic will be edited accordingly. When new additions are made to this news lead, it will be moved to the top of the thread listings. The most recent change will be listed first, while older material will be categorized by type and date originally released. Also, be sure to follow Ed Boon on Twitter yourself!

The latest update of the hidden menu of the official MK: Armageddon website brings the fans a concept art of one of MK4's returning characters, the controversial Reiko!