PC gaming may have come a long way in the last decade or so, but old habits have a way of dying hard.

It's fair to say the preference of a majority of fighting game fans remains the best in available arcade and home console hardware. Even so, that hasn't stopped a hardcore audience forming around the desire for a new PC Mortal Kombat experience.

Hopes will have no doubt been raised by the surprise sighting of a PC "Mortal Kombat Game of the Year" edition, listed by Amazon UK.

With a noted release of June 14, 2013, it would appear the prayers of PC gamers have finally been answered. The June date puts it shortly after a belated Australian Komplete Edition (May 28), but with no other details available, we have to advise a certain amount of caution.

Amazon list a PEGI rating of 18+, but the PC version is not present in PEGI's database at the time of this writing. The "GOTY" tag was superseded by Komplete Edition for previous releases, raising additional suspicion.

When asked recently about a PC release of their upcoming fighter (Injustice: Gods Among Us); NetherRealm Studios Creative Director Ed Boon was cagey in his dismissal [embedded below]. The unlikelihood of a PC Mortal Kombat has been addressed many times in the past by the series co-creator.

Rival developers broke from expectation, releasing versions of Street Fighter IV to PC, followed by their Namco crossover: Street Fighter X Tekken. Capcom Senior Vice-President Christian Svensson responded to the flagship release in 2009, "... I'm cautiously encouraged by the early support..."

Despite contemporary reluctance, MK has a storied history with PC editions. 1994 saw the first release of ports based on Mortal Kombat & Mortal Kombat II, with sequels following in '96 (MK3), '97 (MK Trilogy) & '98 (MK4). After extensive delays, Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection was released February, 2012, bundling new ported versions of the first three games [substituting MK3 for its later Ultimate version].

During promotion for Deadly Alliance at E3 2002; Midway Marketing staff (David Tokheim & Randy Severin) told Mortal Kombat Online that PC versions had notoriously failed to return cost. Piracy remains a frequently cited contributor to PC sale losses. Mortal Kombat Online will continue to monitor developments in the current story.