Tonight marked a big win for Netherrealm Studios, as Mortal Kombat took home the award for Best Fighting Game at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards, beating out King of Fighters XIII, Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, and WWE All Stars.  This is not the first major award the game has been awarded; It was also the recipient of Best Fighting Game of the Year at the 2011 Golden Joystick Awards [Full story], and crowned 'Fighting Game of the Year' by the Official US Xbox Magazine:

Winning a fight takes three things: the guts to face down your enemy, the intelligence to play it smart, and most importantly, the will to endure. This year saw plenty of beautiful brawlers, but, when the dust settled, the one with the most heart claimed the prize. Mortal Kombat, with its deep suite of modes and dogged devotion to its fanbase, made us love it - thus securing it its knockout victory.

 

Don't expect a new Mortal Kombat title anytime soon, however.  Co-creator and lead designer Ed Boon announced tonight that Netherrealm Studios is taking a hiatus from the series, and are currently focusing on an unannounced project.  This doesn't come as a surprise, as just this week the team released Batman: Arkham City Lockdown for iOS devices.  He also stated that there will be no additional downloadable content released for Mortal Kombat (2011).  The aforementioned news of a hiatus has since conflicted with a recent tweet Boon made via his Twitter Account:

"RT @Tyrant_Cenobite @noobde You really taking a hiatus from Mortal Kombat? Noobde: No. NetherRealm is working on MK and non-MK games! :)"

 

Congratulations to Netherrealm Studios for all their success this year!