The search for the perfect guest character is an art of balancing license availability, and the will to create a suitable game version. NetherRealm Studios may seem indiscriminate in their ever expanding collection of crossover fighters, but as Ed Boon told Gameinformer in a recent interview, the vetting process sees many characters disqualified.

The simmering boil of Injustice 2 has been unusually quiet for the past few months, but Creative Director Ed Boon has used Twitter to stir the pot back to bubbling life!

Bypassing the curious absence of recent DC Comics character reveals, Boon went for the ever popular talking point of inter-company guest characters. Two polls quizzed fans on their preference between four figures from other franchises.

In the first poll Boon asked which Mortal Kombat character fans would like to see. The quiz returned an emphatic 52% in favour of obvious pick: Sub-Zero. Nearly five thousand votes behind was last year's WWE Immortal guest Johnny Cage at (23%), and alternate mascot god of lightning Raiden (20%). Metal armed All-American Jax was a distant 5%. There were 19,453 votes registered.

Since discovering the poll feature on Twitter, NetherRealm Studios Creative Director Ed Boon has taken to asking everything from movie preferences to most desired game content. He returned to the hot button topic of Mortal Kombat X this week, asking fans which news they'd most like to see:

The "Komplete Edition" disc release of Mortal Kombat XL may have come a mere four months ago, but that hasn't stopped a loud clamor from rabid Mortal Kombat fans hungry for more!

The seemingly endless apetite for content led to confusion this month, but according to the lead developer, there is still "big" Mortal kombat XL news coming sometime in the future.

As speculation over Mortal Kombat X's content future defiantly simmers post-MKXL; GameInformer have tapped into the always engaging, often contentious subject of guest characters - past, present and future.

Ed Boon revealed the best selling downloadable characters of the most recent game were Alien and Predator. It follows a trend started by Freddy Kreuger and Scorpion, who topped DLC sales in Mortal Kombat (2011) and Injustice: Gods Among Us respectively.

Mortal Kombat X featured the most downloadable characters of any NetherRealm Studios fighting game to date: eight in total. Four of those were guest fighters, meaning the combative Alien vs Predator mega-franchise trumped classic horror icons Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th) and Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) in latest sales. That fact hasn't stopped Ed Boon being open to the idea of a dedicated horror fighting game [full story].

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:

Most fans would agree: Ed Boon has had it far too good for far too long. As co-creator of the monster Mortal Kombat franchise and head of Injustice 2, Boon has had a ticket to ride where he wants, when he wants.

After almost twenty-five years of writing and cashing his own cheques - GameInformer has finally brought the gamesmaster to task to pay the bill on the questions he's been avoiding for decades!

The full E3 interview broaches many of the outstanding issues surrounding the Mortal Kombat franchise. These excerpts reflect but a few of our favourites.

The future of non-playable character cameos in the Mortal Kombat series may be in doubt as the impact of persistent fan outcry within NetherRealm Studios comes to light.

Mortal Kombat X Sound Designer Brian Chard has been sharing his unique perspective with inquisitive fans, revealing aggressive interest in inaccessible fighters may have had a negative effect on the powers that be: "... [You] should know that those who complained about NPCs pretty much convinced Ed not to have em in future games."

When asked to clarify which types of NPC he believed are in danger, Chard pointed to in-game opponents and story mode cut scene cameos: "The impression I got was both, when it comes to potential roster chars (i.e., Outworld Soldier #2 is still safe)."

Both types of non-playable character drew significant attention from fans who've been trained to expect post-release additions through downloadable content channels. Remarkably, decisions relating to DLC have been largely disconnected from in-game appearances - an otherwise natural method for building anticipation for subsequent releases. Of the eight DLC characters, only one of each NPC type was included: Tanya, who appeared as an NPC opponent, and Bo' Rai Cho - a minor player in story FMVs.

Far from condemning his colleagues, Chard questions the quality of discourse from fans quick to attack the developer studio: "I think it's stupider of people who complained about them not being playable and called us lazy." With regards to characters who appear in NPC fights, he explains: "Just so everyone understands: It's a long way from fightable to playable." Characters who appear as NPCs may otherwise have missed out all together. On fan desire, Chard adds: "... it shows us how well received the original game was, which is nice."

"Lazy" has become an unfairly frequent catchall phrase for fans dissatisfied with perceived inconsistencies in the NetherRealm and Warner Brothers' approach. The substitution of personal preference in place of legitimate critique often downplays the work of artists and developers contributing to the marathon of a finished product. Malicious attacks and demands through social media - among the most egregious examples of fan ignorance.

Of course, no game is immune from criticism, and NPC kombatants have played an awkward role in the life of Mortal Kombat X. Invasion Mode appeared to suffer for the absence of existing and new character assets [read more]. Expectations for a character like Fujin: as much a consequence of the decision to reboot the series in 2011, as his consolation appearance in story mode sequences. Mortal Kombat X draws considerable inspiration from 1997's Mortal Kombat 4 - which introduced the character in a playable capacity.

Will they or won't they? That's been the question surrounding additional downloadable content for Mortal Kombat X. A poll posted by NetherRealm Creative Director Ed Boon asked fans what they'd like to see the studio develop next - and it's DLC that is still dominating fans minds!

Hot on the heels of an all male poll [full story]; Mortal Kombat X Creative Director Ed Boon has asked fans which female kombatant they missed most from the best selling tenth installment.

The four character Twitter poll produced a closer race between options, with 1,334 more votes registered than the initial query. Jade was an unsurprising winner with 37%, often commanding a highly motivated cult following. 2011 DLC fighter Skarlet was a more surprising second with 27% of the vote.