The Mortal Kombat 1 Information and General Discussion Thread (Old)

A new era begins! This thread is for collecting general information as it's released about the upcoming game, as well as discussion of the the game and its mechanics, details, etc. until release.

GAMEPLAY TRAILER

ED BOON TIMELINE/MECHANICS BASIC INTRO
Ed Boon Short Interview @ Summer Game Fest 2023

ANNOUNCEMENT TRAILER

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

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Discover a reborn Mortal Kombat Universe created by the Fire God Liu Kang. Mortal Kombat 1 ushers in a new era of the iconic franchise with a new fighting system, game modes, and fatalities!

www.mortalkombat.com

PRESS RELEASE

Warner Bros. Games Announces Mortal Kombat 1

Warner Bros. Games today announced Mortal Kombat 1, a brand-new title in the acclaimed Mortal Kombat videogame franchise that has sold more than 80 mi

www.businesswire.com

RELEASE DATE AND PLATFORMS
September 19, 2023 — PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC, including Steam and Epic Games Store.

PRE-ORDER BETA
The Pre-Order Beta will take place from August 18-21.


PRICING / EDITIONS

• Mortal Kombat 1 Standard Edition will be available physically and digitally for $69.99 (SRP)
• Mortal Kombat 1 Premium Edition will be available physically and digitally for $109.99 (SRP) — includes all Standard Edition content, along with the Kombat Pack, early access to the game beginning Sept. 14, and 1,250 Dragon Krystals (in-game currency). The Kombat Pack will feature a Johnny Cage character skin with the likeness of famed actor and martial artist, Jean-Claude Van Damme (available at launch), early access to six new playable characters (available post-launch), and five new Kameo Fighters (available post-launch).
• Mortal Kombat 1 Kollector’s Edition will be available physically at select retailers for $249.99 (SRP) on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S only — includes all Premium Edition content, and early access, along with a 16.5-inch Liu Kang sculpture designed by COARSE and an inspired Liu Kang in-game character skin, three exclusive art prints, a steel case, and 1,450 additional Dragon Krystals (2,700 total).

BASIC INFORMATION

Developed by award-winning NetherRealm Studios, the upcoming game will introduce a reborn Mortal Kombat Universe that has been created by the Fire God Liu Kang, featuring reimagined versions of iconic characters as they’ve never been seen before.​

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NetherRealm’s genre-defining Story Mode returns with an immersive cinematic narrative featuring unexpected twists on classic rivalries and original backstories for a wide-ranging cast of legendary fighters, including Liu Kang, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Raiden, Kung Lao, Kitana, Mileena, Shang Tsung, Johnny Cage, and many others. Mortal Kombat 1 will also introduce Kameo Fighters, a unique roster of partner characters that can assist during matches, creating expanded gameplay possibilities for players.​

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NEW MECHANICS

• Kameo - MK1 introduces "Kameo fighters", which can be called in for assists and combo extenders, breakers, etc. Some Kameo fighters are part of the main roster of the game.
• Aerial Kombat returns from MK: Armageddon; each character has strings that can only be used on a airborne opponent

 

* So Johnny doesn't have any projectiles in this game it seems. I think that's a first for him.

* I like this look for Rain but I wish they'd stick with a consistent look and weapon for him.

 

I really enjoyed the Kombat Kast and Lin Kuei trailer; very exciting to see more gameplay in action and the thought processes around some of the design.

I was also pleased to hear Steph comment that Kameos are a way to bring back characters we haven't seen in about 10-ish years. That implies this is where most of the 3D era characters in the game will be, and that's great because that's where they belong. It would also give NetherRealm Studios a test bed to see how often they're picked and if it's worth developing them as full characters in future games. That's a very smart approach.

For the main roster, so far we have:

• Lui Kang
• Scorpion
• Sub-Zero
• Raiden
• Kung Lao
• Kitana
• Mileena
• Shang Tsung
• Johnny Cage
• Kenshi
• Smoke
• Rain

Assuming I'm not missing anyone, that's 12 of the 24 roster slots, 11 arcade era (and original trilogy too boot, mostly the first 2 games) and 1 3D era.

I still predict we're looking at 2-4 3D era characters in the base roster, and I think 4 is stretching it. We'll see, but I'm pleased with how the roster is going.

The gameplay looks extremely fun, I still need to wrap my head properly around Kameo use and air kombat inspite of having been in the Stress Test. I'm looking forward to spending some real time in the training room learning the game.

Mileena's revised mouth is also quite disturbing and surprising!

 

I was also pleased to hear Steph comment that Kameos are a way to bring back characters we haven't seen in about 10-ish years. That implies this is where most of the 3D era characters in the game will be, and that's great because that's where they belong.

That's where they belong if they're not properly developed, yes. Let's just hope that NRS do some amazing redesigns and give some of them a chance to shine. No point writing them off forever when there's so much potential.

 

That's where they belong if they're not properly developed, yes. Let's just hope that NRS do some amazing redesigns and give some of them a chance to shine. No point writing them off forever when there's so much potential.

Nah, my opinion is 3D era characters, save Kenshi, should never be in the main roster. Ever.

 

You can just go ahead and add Quan Chi to whatever launch roster predictions, btw.

 

Nah, my opinion is 3D era characters, save Kenshi, should never be in the main roster. Ever.

Quan is on the same level as Kenshi, and Fujin is good too imo. I'd like to see some of these shitters get the Tremor treatment.

 

You can just go ahead and add Quan Chi to whatever launch roster predictions, btw.

I'm not making predictions or buying into leaks. Best to go with what's actually announced.

Quan is on the same level as Kenshi, and Fujin is good too imo. I'd like to see some of these shitters get the Tremor treatment.

Quan and Fujin aroun't 3D era, they're arcade era, and there's no issue with them being in the game. It's the 3D era characters who should stick to being Konsumables, Kameos, etc.

 

I still dont understand why Steph (and others) are saying Kameos are going to bring a lot of obscure characters back when, so far, 10 of 16 revealed characters are classics. They would need to add 4 more characters before launch, and make them and the remaining 6 ones ALL "obscure 3d characters" for the roster to have an even division of classics/3d characters (not counting DLC of course).

 

Game isn't even out yet and they are already salivating with how they will sell us DLC characters. I will remind everyone that in every game before MK9 you had the full roster included with the base game. Armageddon had every single one and a character creator! They would charge you hundreds of dollars extra for that much content now.

 

I will remind everyone that in every game before MK9 you had the full roster included with the base game.

That's actually not correct, if you wanted the full roster for Mortal Kombat 3, you had to buy a new version of the game sold as a complete standalone purchase. Same with Mortal Kombat 4. Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and Mortal Kombat Deception had characters added to specific versions of the game not on the mainline consoles (i.e. Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Game Cube, and PlayStation Portable).

In these cases, it was impossible to get the full roster in your current game or even on your preferred platform.

While I'm not a fan of huge cost post-launch DLC, at least things are kept universal now.

 

Game isn't even out yet and they are already salivating with how they will sell us DLC characters. I will remind everyone that in every game before MK9 you had the full roster included with the base game. Armageddon had every single one and a character creator! They would charge you hundreds of dollars extra for that much content now.

Nobody has forgotten, time just moved forward. It's a tired discussion.

 

Game isn't even out yet and they are already salivating with how they will sell us DLC characters. I will remind everyone that in every game before MK9 you had the full roster included with the base game. Armageddon had every single one and a character creator! They would charge you hundreds of dollars extra for that much content now.

This applies to virtually every single game in existence in the PS2 era, not just MK or even fighting games. There was no PlayStation store and most players didn't connect their consoles to the internet. Armageddon had most, sure, but it should be about quality over quantity, which Armageddon certainly lacked. Not sure what argument you're trying to make. Get with the times, I guess?

 

My only gripe with NRS DLC is that they usually start making the DLC before the game is even SHIPPED. Lots of game developers, like FromSoftware, usually only start making dlc after the game launches, which imo is the right way to do it.

 

My only gripe with NRS DLC is that they usually start making the DLC before the game is even SHIPPED. Lots of game developers, like FromSoftware, usually only start making dlc after the game launches, which imo is the right way to do it.

the seems like a weird gripe to have, eventually a game doesn't need more art, what are the artists supposed to work on? while the last stretch of development is about bug fixes and balancing, the artists move on to DLC.

 

My only gripe with NRS DLC is that they usually start making the DLC before the game is even SHIPPED. Lots of game developers, like FromSoftware, usually only start making dlc after the game launches, which imo is the right way to do it.

Yeah you pretty much just have to accept that NRS is gonna ass blast you with DLC. The base game of every NRS title has a ton of content for the price, which is awesome. However, the kombat packs are like half the cost of the whole game for a few characters and some shitty skins.

FromSoftware is a great example. I'm 100 hours into Elden Ring and far from bored and I only do PvE. 100 hours is also child's play considering how other people hit numbers like this in launch week and shit. Dark Souls 3 did DLC so well and im sure Shadow of the Erdtree will be fairly priced for the content. Witcher 3 is another good example of good DLC.

It just is what it is unfortunately, and NRS themselves are more than likely just doing what they're told. WB is pretty greedy and the suicide squad game looks like a fucking disaster, so I'm glad MK is still pretty good value.

 

The only thing I wish nrs would stop doing dlc wise is 'preorder to play as this character!' Like obviously they're already good to go for launch. They should be playable whenever you buy the game instead of having to pay more for them if you don't preorder

 

Yeah you pretty much just have to accept that NRS is gonna ass blast you with DLC. The base game of every NRS title has a ton of content for the price, which is awesome. However, the kombat packs are like half the cost of the whole game for a few characters and some shitty skins.

Thats unfortunately the standart when it comes to Fighting Games these days and they maybe even added a bit more into it with the Kameos compared to 11 when it comes to "Playable" Charackters. We have to see what they did/how they handle costumes.

 

Starting work on DLC before shipping is standard practice, actually. If it weren't we'd be waiting a lot longer for that content. Since it's also expected content anyways, why shouldn't it be worked on as early as possible?
The reality is that the people in industry are operating on a separate timeline from us, the end users, and from our pov things are always going to look very different.

They gotta do stuff far in advance, which is all budgeted for btw.

 

The only thing I wish nrs would stop doing dlc wise is 'preorder to play as this character!' Like obviously they're already good to go for launch. They should be playable whenever you buy the game instead of having to pay more for them if you don't preorder

whats worse, that char never got on sale in ij2 during its lifecycle so to this day i dont have him XD

 

The only thing I wish nrs would stop doing dlc wise is 'preorder to play as this character!' Like obviously they're already good to go for launch. They should be playable whenever you buy the game instead of having to pay more for them if you don't preorder

Especially since it's Shang. Like "pre order to get this character that was in the base roster for MK9 and that you just paid extra for in 11!"

Like.... thanks guys.

People were hyped about Goro, Darkseid, and Shao Kahn. I haven't seen anyone, even people in YouTube comments talking about how it's a guarantee pre-order for Shang like they did for those guys. I vividly remember "GORO LIVES" as getting people hyped as shit.

On disc or day 1 DLC is fucked and you guys that are cool with it need to raise your standards a little.

 

Nah, my opinion is 3D era characters, save Kenshi, should never be in the main roster. Ever.

You're gonna be heartbroken when the game comes out then. Rain's bio yesterday confirmed the roster leak to be true.

 

Starting work on DLC before shipping is standard practice, actually. If it weren't we'd be waiting a lot longer for that content. Since it's also expected content anyways, why shouldn't it be worked on as early as possible?
The reality is that the people in industry are operating on a separate timeline from us, the end users, and from our pov things are always going to look very different.

They gotta do stuff far in advance, which is all budgeted for btw.

If MK1 launches, the net code is great, the towers aren't buggy, the game is fun, the side mode is expansive, there's tons of fatalities and skins, and the story mode has a decent run time, I'm cool with them having started DLC early.

If the online experience is fucked, the towers don't work, there are super egregious balance issues (at least more than typical at launch, some are guaranteed of course), the krypt or whatever it's gonna be sucks, story is short, etc, then it would be frustrating for them to have started DLC.

I definitely think MK1 will launch in a good state with a lot of content, so it's not as bad as other games for them to have started their DLC already. I hope they find a way to justify the price of the Kombat Packs though. Characters are great to have, early access to characters is whatever, the handful of skins are usually mediocre. They could at least throw in the soundtracks for old games, more stages, whatever. Even though that shit should be free.

 

The thing about deadlines is that whether they've done a good job or not they'll have to move onto the next job regardless, but obviously we all would prefer they do a good job.

Nah, my opinion is 3D era characters, save Kenshi, should never be in the main roster. Ever.

I really don't get what's so bad about them.

 

There was a lot to digest over the last past months with this game.

The game play revival trailer didn't won me what was strange and first time I didn’t enjoy much MK reveal.

Everything was slowly changing after watching some game play footage. Now I understand a game a lot more and looks like it gonna be blast. I love the kameo system and with this the game will have much more freedom of creativity than last one. You need to just look those videos of the best players.

They can put a lot of characters that probably would never be in the game.

Yesterday trailer was really awesome and give the game the better perspective what to except then game play revival trailer.

Can’t wait for more news incoming months and keep fingers crossed for Reptile Baraka Nitara Hotaru to somehow get in this game .

 

The thing about deadlines is that whether they've done a good job or not they'll have to move onto the next job regardless, but obviously we all would prefer they do a good job.

No doubt, I'm just saying this practice will either be "dang I like what I got, I'd be willing to pay for more", or if it's unpolished and jank it'll be viewed as "fix the game before selling us more shit". Like I said though, MK1 is most likely gonna be polished and content rich.

A game like I'm talking about is Callisto Protocol. I was really excited for it but the gameplay was shit, it got terrible reviews, and they were already advertising DLC within a week or 2 after launch.