News late last week of the shock passing of music legend Prince has inspired an outpouring of mourning and tribute from fans the world over. The global pop sensation was prolific throughout the 1980s and '90s: as remembered for his unique visual signature and fashion sense, as his provocative music and lyrics.

Purple was the color of choice; forever associated with the musician thanks in no small part to his 1984 record and film: Purple Rain. Rolling Stone call the soundtrack the second greatest album of the eighties. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score that same year.

The success of Purple Rain led Warner Brothers to apply the resident artist to Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film. An odd combination complimented by the madcap antics of the purple villain Joker. Mortal Kombat and Prince may seem an even more unusual combination, but as many fans know: Series co-creator Ed Boon is a self-professed long time fan, who stumbled into his own living tribute to the artist through the game series, in 1995.

Kotaku jumped on the connection, pulling a quote from a 2011 interview with PlayStation.Blog:

One year on from the record release of Mortal Kombat X; NetherRealm Studios Creative Director Ed Boon has polled fans on the controversial subject of absentee characters.

Using a Twitter poll: Boon asked which character fans missed the most, isolating his options to just four characters. With a 45% majority, Noob Saibot was the overwhelming winner. Popularly requested cult favourite Rain came second with 22%.

He was sired from the loins of gods, but his desires for mortal power overwhelm his noble heritage! The next Invasion Boss has launched full scale war against online players in Mortal Kombat X!

This time it's Rain who leaps out of story mode and into the fray in the name of Orderrealm! The Edenian demi-god represents the ultimate challenge - one you won't overcome on your own! This will be a team effort as the boss tier threat pushes you to do what damage you can, before succumbing to nigh inevitable defeat.

Players can choose to join the White Lotus Society, Lin Kuei, Special Forces, Black Dragon or Brotherhood of Shadow. Representing a clan earns points toward special unlockable items and achievements, with every action in the game contributing to your clan's total assault! Use clan recruitment posts on the forum to share valuable boss strategies to help spur your faction to victory!

Choose your destiny and fight for them - or against them! Had a change of heart? For a small points penalty, you can switch clans at any time. Rising through the ranks of each clan will offer in-game benefits! Learn more about Clans & Invasions in the Mortal Kombat X: Faction War Introduction!

From the Palace Gates of Shang Tsung's Island, to the battle ravaged streets of Earthrealm 25 years later: The only constant shared by two generations is the need to fight! The tournament called Mortal Kombat has made legends of champions, and warriors of mortals. With a new generation of challengers emerging - it all begins again!

April 14th saw the long awaited release of Mortal Kombat X! Ending a four year cycle, the new game has changed the way we view the series and its fighters, challenging us to ask: Who's Next?

It is a question we've asked annually for years - each time finding a different answer! In 2014, the unknown of a looming sequel fuelled a whole new perspective. After months of debate and many thousands of votes, we crowned fan-favourite Ermac the ultimate victor! With Mortal Kombat X here, everything has changed! True champions must defend their title, and we must ask the eternal question with evolving truth: Who is the Supreme Mortal Kombat Champion?

The ultimate fan voting tournament has become an annual celebrated tradition on Mortal Kombat Online - summoning the entire fanbase to agree on a single champion from sixty-four fighters! In 2015: the battle will be tougher than ever! Mortal Kombat X will inform the entire bracket, introducing first-time competitors and omitting old favorites! Read on to learn more about what it all means and how you can join in! Visit the Fan Koliseum to share your votes and discuss battles more in depth!

As The Kombat Pack makes preparations to unleash its first downloadable guest fighter [Jason] -- many fans are asking questions about the non-playable characters already included in Mortal Kombat X.

Several series favourites appear in cameo & playable forms during the featured story mode, dangling completely rendered character models in front of a rabid fanbase. Fighters such as Rain, Baraka & Tanya can be battled in the mode, possessing simplified move lists devoid of the Character Variations that make Mortal Kombat X stand apart.

PC versions of Mortal Kombat X have opened the game up to greater scrutiny than ever before. Eurogamer reports one modder's efforts to make NPCs playable with a very simple alteration to existing fighter code. XVermillion explained his method on Reddit [below].

Taking place 25 years after the events of Mortal Kombat (2011), the new generation of characters will discover that Outworld is not the only threat they face. Fans will get a first look at the newest fighters to join Cassie Cage, including Jacqueline Briggs, daughter of Jax, Takashi Takeda, son of Kenshi, and Kung Jin, descendant of Kung Lao.

IGN are getting into the spirit of speculation following a special preview of Mortal Kombat X. The Next Trailer finally offered everyone a full preview of dynamic online features coming in 2015: Faction War and Living Tower sparking a firestorm of character spotting and fan curiosity! With hands-on experience, IGN report chances for two more fan-favourite characters: Cyrax & Rain:

In the newly announced Living Towers mode, which adds unique gameplay modifiers to standard matches, both Cyrax and Rain had mods named after them. More significantly, these mods involved fully modeled graphical assets related to each of them: Cyrax's trademark bombs, and Rain's water-bubble attack.

NetherRealm Studios are back in the 'rasslin business! The developer released the free fighting app WWE Immortals earlier this month - just in time for the annual Royal Rumble! We think it's such a swell game, we're celebrating with our own take on the WWE classic - and we need you to make it work!

We'll be asking "Who's Next?" when 30 Kombatants are drawn randomly at regular intervals to enter the first ever Mortal Kombat: Royal Rumble!

It will all go down tomorrow (Sunday) - with the Fan Koliseum deciding characters' fates by voting for eliminations on the forum, and boosting their chances via Twitter! Better still, every participating fan will go into the draw to win themselves a limited edition Mortal Kombat kollectible pin! Here's what you need to know:

Mortal Kombat - Royal Rumble Rules:
• 30 Kombatants will be drawn randomly to enter at regular intervals.
• The MK Royal Rumble will begin when #1 & #2 are announced.
• Each entrant will be announced via @MK_Online & the forum.
• Kombatants begin with 12 elimination points.
• For every 5 Retweets & 10 Favorites a Twitter entrance receives - the corresponding character will gain +1 elimination points. [Tallied during each subsequent entrance.]
• Fans will vote to eliminate active characters by posting to the forum.
• An elimination occurs when the voting tally exceeds a characters points total.
• Fans can vote for an elimination once per entrance: Points will remain subtracted, but a new entrance will grant users the right to vote again for any character they decide.
• Eliminations will give points to randomly assigned eliminators.
• There must always be at least 1 kombatant active.
• Kombatants remaining after the 30th entrant will be systematically eliminated based on their points and the total Retweet & Favorites received.
• In the tradition of the Royal Rumble - expect surprises! The 30 entrants will be drawn randomly from a total field of 85 characters!
• Prize winners will be notified within 48 hours.

From the Palace Gates of Shang Tsung's Island, to the invaded streets of metropolitan Earthrealm: The more things have changed, the more they've stayed the same! The tournament called Mortal Kombat has raged for over 20 years -- and for the first time since that momentous anniversary -- the game is about to change!

June 2nd will reveal the long awaited next instalment of Mortal Kombat! As the month of May winds to a close, we have been asked a simple question in promotional anticipation: Who's Next?

We asked a very similar question this time last year! In 2013, it was Smoke who emerged from the months of debate and thousands of votes as a controversial victor! Like the warrior himself - the conclusion was enshrouded in a fog of doubt and uncertainty. With the new game mere days from launch - and new measures in place - nothing can be taken as fact! True champions must defend their title, and we must ask the question eternal: Who is the Supreme Mortal Kombat Champion?

The ultimate fan voting tournament has become an annual tradition on Mortal Kombat Online - summoning the entire fanbase to agree on a single champion from sixty-four fighters! In 2014: the event will reflect the promotional cycle of a brand new game - introducing newly revealed elements as the tournament unfolds! Read on to learn more about what it all means and how you can join in!