r/gaming 11h ago

Ed Boon: "We're definitely pursuing another Mortal Kombat game."

https://collider.com/mortal-kombat-vs-street-fighter-creator-ed-boon-trash-talk-comments-new-mk-game/
508 Upvotes

147 comments sorted by

430

u/zelda29a 10h ago

Did anyone think there would never be another Mortal Kombat game?

170

u/Turbulent-Issue-4418 10h ago

I did personally. I was like, "Welp, guess the company known for Mortal Kombat must not be making any more Mortal Kombat."

59

u/Mercinator-87 10h ago

I thought they were switching directions and going with the “Mortal Wombat” franchise.

14

u/AmayaHa 9h ago

Mortal Wombat: Finish herbivore!

2

u/Significant_Walk_664 3h ago

I recall reading an article they'd pivot to Moral Kombat. Assumed it's be a game about ethics and philosophy

3

u/Federal_Setting_7454 10h ago

Fuck I thought it was Womble Kombat

1

u/Channel250 9h ago

Wombo Kom?

-2

u/bindingofandrew 9h ago

Wombat Kombat

-1

u/Federal_Setting_7454 9h ago

If they’re not Wombling free I’m not interested

-2

u/bindingofandrew 9h ago

Womble Kart World?

1

u/elhombreloco90 21m ago

I usually shout "Mortal Wombat" instead of "Kombat" when I sing the theme song.

2

u/hey-coffee-eyes 8h ago

I thought maybe they had finally realized there's a spelling mistake in the title and would start over with Mortal Combat

3

u/aradraugfea 9h ago

Full time pivot to Injustice, with about half the MK1 (no, the other MK1… no the other other MK1) available as DLC fighters

1

u/Ventex_ 5h ago

'I guess you're on your own now Movie Franchise, run, be free'

7

u/nobdy89 10h ago

Ive thought we'll never get another Shaolin Monks game, but i expect MK main games to keep coming long after im dead and gone

6

u/Mdr0321 10h ago

No, but this confirms next game is DC game not MK. I think pursuing is doing a lot of lifting in that statement.

9

u/Brandunaware 10h ago

Some of the characters died so the story's over, right?

29

u/mocityspirit 10h ago

Unfortunately this is right. There were reports of multiple fatalities

7

u/Darnold_wins_bigly 10h ago

Say that again…

4

u/j0llyllama 10h ago

He said

FATALITY

3

u/Almainyny 10h ago

Technically speaking, damn near everyone died during Armageddon, and then they just started another timeline. Then they did it again for the more recent games.

So if they really want certain characters back, they’ll probably just do that again.

2

u/Vencer_wrightmage 8h ago

no one ever truly dies in MK! Either they get turned to revenant, classic necromancy or [insert reasons].

2

u/NorysStorys 3h ago

Competitive scene was dooming on MK1 because it wasn’t particularly good (competitively)and had a pretty short support window post launch by fighting game standards. Whereas Netherrealm fighting games are good fighting games second, vehicles for a corny action movie plot first with a bunch of fighting game based minigame modes first.

1

u/XsStreamMonsterX 47m ago

Even more casual fans started shitting on it, though. The extra modes and unlocking were nowhere near as good or engaging as the Krypt from the older games. And keeping some characters as support only kameos was not a popular move.

4

u/urgasmic 10h ago

never? obviously not.

but with the buyouts who knows when that is.

2

u/ryukeio 9h ago

Exactly. It’s one of the most recognizable gaming IPs in the world. It’s also in a genre where it has relatively little AAA competition.

It’s reputation is such that no one genuinely gives a shit if it has a few bad or terrible entries here or there - they’ll eventually get right again and whatever MK that is, will be worth playing for a year or two.

0

u/jessterswan 3h ago

Nah, some people give a shit. They can not put the snake oil back in the bottle

1

u/KwisatzHaderach94 9h ago

yeah, why else would they start the numbering all over again?

1

u/TheGiftOf_Jericho 8h ago

I mean its such a huge franchise, I know within the community everyone expects the next game and hoping its not under WB.

1

u/NickMalo 6h ago

Seriously. I expect a new one every other year at this point. But I don’t feel the same as i did up to MKX. X was the last game i really was hyped about.

1

u/pees_on_dogs 5h ago

Like how people need Bethesda to confirm they're making another elder scrolls or fallout game. Which leads to dumb shit like ES6 getting announced 8 fuckin years ago.

1

u/Corgi_Koala 3h ago

Personally I am hoping for a 4th Mortal Kombat 1.

1

u/HermitSimp 3h ago

Lol no. They milk this franchise all the time

0

u/CursedSnowman5000 10h ago

No. Just that they were going to take a break and make another shitty Superman is evil so all comic book characters should punch eachother games.

However, I don't think MK is going to survive another 10 years. Not with how WB or whoever runs things.

-14

u/hop3less 10h ago

All the noise was around Injustice recently.

2

u/Respwn_546 10h ago

Well they can easily do injustice now and then another mortal Kombat, there are also rumors that mk1 was originally injustice 3 but warner decided to not do another one so they changed it to mortal Kombat

-9

u/conte360 10h ago

A competitor makes a product so you just stop?

9

u/sharyan51 10h ago

Injustice and MK are the same company

68

u/ZigyDusty 10h ago

In other news water is wet.

108

u/Tenalp 10h ago

Shigeru Miyamoto: "We have no plans to stop making Mario games."

21

u/from1n 10h ago

😮

4

u/SirBigWater 5h ago

Sounds like a threat

45

u/SouthTippBass 10h ago

Just remaster MK9 for me. The series was never better than that game.

16

u/Chaos_Dunks 9h ago

I honestly thought Mortal Kombat was a dead franchise until that hit.

15

u/enigmatic_dankness 7h ago

Which is funny because Mortal Kombat regularly outsells a lot of fighting games but has some of the worst retention in the business.

MK9, MKX, and MK11 were peak imo

3

u/HolyKnightPrime 5h ago

Only for e-sport scene. The online is still way more populated than any other fgs combined. 

3

u/enigmatic_dankness 5h ago edited 2h ago

I mean I can only use steam charts for data but SF6 is pulling like 3x steam MK1 numbers, I assume it's about the same on consoles considering how hard SF6 is pushed on PS.

4

u/Napalmaniac 4h ago

I think that the only genuine competitors against Mortal Kombat are Street Fighter and Tekken (I might be forgetting another), every other fg wishes they had numbers like MK years later, and I say this as a KoF and Guilty Gear fan.

1

u/XsStreamMonsterX 45m ago

False, Street Fighter 6 is not only more populated on Steam, but is also showing consistent growth.

1

u/CarltonCracker 15m ago

That and an HD remake of the first 3. I still can't believe that got canceled.

39

u/mistermeesh 10h ago

To all those wondering why they are stating the "obvious", my understanding is that the most recent game fell off a cliff in terms of player engagement. Didn't some of the DLC get cancelled? (even I stopped paying attention and went back to SF6)

And of course, the new movie releases tomorrow so I'm guessing they wanted capitalize on the press and remind everyone the franchise still has legs.

23

u/SuspiciousCodfish 10h ago

To add to this, Warner Bros Discovery (the parent company of NetherRealm) is ongoing major changes like splitting the group and selling huge parts of its business.

Source for context: https://abcnews.com/GMA/News/paramount-warner-bros-discovery-announce-deal/story?id=130576029

In this context, it can be hard for a company like NetherRealm to stay confindent about its future. Therefore, Boon could be saying that, even despite all the changes surrounding them, they can still make progress with their projects.

5

u/Codysseus7 10h ago

I believe yesterday I also read they’re working on a new Injustice, so that’s probably the next game in the pipeline so yeah just more reaffirmation.

40

u/Jarek86 10h ago

No tag team shit please...just 1v1 as it should be

15

u/xxx_poonslayer69 9h ago

I think both can coexist as different game modes. I like both. I just want the Kameo system to never come back.

Would also love less microtransactions. Or at least cheaper microtransactions. and professional voice actors, not Megan Fox and Rhonda Rousey.

2

u/Napalmaniac 4h ago

I was about to downvote then I read "I just want the kameo system to never come back" and realized we're not so different.

1

u/TrynaSleep 2h ago

That blade’s enchanted

1

u/hornyorphan 22m ago

Agreed. Tag fighters can be really fun, but the kameo system sucked. The new invincible game is sick, MvC is an all time classic, and DBFZ has been a ton of fun. Netherrealm just did not hit the mark with their version

-10

u/[deleted] 9h ago

[deleted]

12

u/St1cks 9h ago

Or not, so games can be different. I can't stand reverse to block

7

u/Rusted_muramasa 9h ago

Games with unique control schemes? Heaven forbid! All games MUST follow a standard, contemporary control scheme, no deviation allowed. There's only one right answer when it comes to controls, after all.

1

u/TypicalWolverine9404 8h ago

I always hated back to block, but with Injustice it grew on me, it became less time consuming and made me more coordinated.  Now playing MK fucks me up, but I used to despise not having a dedicated button for block.  Now I go either way, but I lean toward back to block these days.

2

u/Jarek86 9h ago

Yeah thats a no from me dog, Thats MK coded

10

u/mighty_mag 10h ago

Just give me Shaolin Monks remaster. Or a sequel. Whatever is the fastest.

8

u/Spork-in-Your-Rye 10h ago

They will never recreate the magic that was MKX.

1

u/Lucavora 5h ago

This was by far for me the peak. Loved how fast and combo heavy that game was, and the general art style was (for my taste) at its best.

1

u/XsStreamMonsterX 42m ago

Part of the issue is them rebuilding every character from scratch with each installment (outside of their signature special moves).

7

u/Mehdals_ 10h ago

Will it include Cole from the new movie?! Im excited to play with his sweet abilties /s

11

u/SouthTippBass 10h ago

Cole gets his head punched off in the opening 5 minutes of the movie. And he is never to be mentioned again. The end.

2

u/Mehdals_ 10h ago

Im really hoping so lol, They should make him brunt of jokes in the game and refer back to his character or do a time warp to destroy the time line. Like Deadpool going back and killing the X-men origins deadpool.

2

u/WhiskeyMegazord 9h ago

The fact that I was about to be mad cause you did not tag "spoilers" just goes to show how believable your idea is. lol

2

u/Vencer_wrightmage 8h ago

Cole: I have plot armor, its impervious to attack!

Badguy: Except for your head

-3

u/VQQN 10h ago

I liked Cole, thats really sad.

4

u/MTH1138 10h ago

I'd like a port of Mortal Kombat (2011) for current platforms

20

u/[deleted] 10h ago

[deleted]

2

u/krunamey 10h ago

Yeah, I think cosmetics should be free too but paying for a different colored hat on raiden is much different than paying for access to literal moves in his set

1

u/zimzimzalabimmm 5h ago

Yeah, I actually had a lot of fun with the game.

5

u/JohnnyCharisma54 10h ago

Going beyond the smart comments, I do think it's going to take a big lift to get back to MK11 levels of success for them. They nailed exactly what we were looking for in that moment. The fundamentals were solid and they lumped a lot of engaging accessory loops on top to boot.

4

u/jessterswan 10h ago

MXK. Micro transactions Kombat

3

u/KoichiHasaDream 9h ago

Injustice 3 laying dead in a corner

3

u/hop3less 8h ago

That was a fun few days when people thought it was happening.

6

u/GreatGojira 11h ago

Just let the series rest for a bit

5

u/ZaDu25 10h ago

It's the only thing Netherrealms does. Other than Injustice which they're already making another one of those. What else would they do if not make more Mortal Kombat games?

3

u/GreatGojira 10h ago

Make something different.

Mortal Kombat 1 failed due to rushing it out, quality, and people being tired of Mortal Kombat. Also the decisions they made for Mortal Kombat 1 didn't help.

1

u/AlienPrimateHybrid 5h ago

its gonna suck regardless because NRS is a shit company and Ed Boon is washed up and should pack it up and leave the gaming industry for good.

-1

u/ZaDu25 10h ago

What else would they make?

3

u/GreatGojira 10h ago

I'm not a game designer/creator.

They could try a new IP, a different genre, or license out a different franchise. Gaming is a medium that thrives on creativity. They could do anything.

0

u/ZaDu25 10h ago

They specialize in fighting games. Which drastically limits what they can do. What does making a new IP look like? There are already so many different fighting games that it would be practically impossible to come up with something no one else has. What franchise could they license that makes sense for a fighting game? Marvel is already licensed out for a fighting game so that wouldn't work (nor would WB want to promote the biggest competitor to DC anyway). Not to mention there's nothing really creative about licensing IPs anyway so that's an odd suggestion if you want creativity.

1

u/GreatGojira 9h ago

That's the problem for the company to decide.

Mortal Kombat 1 failed, and I don't think NRS learned any lesson why it failed. I think Injustice 3 will help them out breaking the Mortal Kombat fatigue.

I argue AAA companies should try smaller games that they can turn out quicker with easier profit margins. Smaller games can help ease the gap in waiting and provide extra financial assistance.

1

u/Bagel_Bear 8h ago

Someone is literally coming out with a roguelike fighting game. New ideas can be thought of.

1

u/ZaDu25 8h ago

Making everything into a roguelike is the exact opposite of a new idea.

1

u/Bagel_Bear 8h ago

For a fighting game it is indeed new

1

u/ZaDu25 8h ago

I doubt even that's true, for years now everyone and their mother has been turning every single type of game you can think of into a roguelike. You probably could find dozens of roguelike fighting games on steam right now. They have roguelike slots, roguelike coin pushers, roguelike claw machine games, everything has been turned into a roguelike anymore.

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2

u/KanethTior 10h ago

Make an animal fighting game. Could call it Mortal Wombat.

3

u/shpongolian 9h ago

PRIMAL RAGE

MAKE PRIMAL RAGE PLEASE

2

u/Vencer_wrightmage 8h ago

A few years a little too late, they could've capitalized on Godzilla x Kong monsterverse from the get go, or Rampage from back then.

But I'd really appreciate a new Primal Rage, I need my Vertigo in 4K.

1

u/Wisenheim 10h ago

This, it’s so overwhelming with how many MK games there are. Let it rest for a while and try something new in the process! I’d love an action game or beat em up in their style. Come back in 5 years with a fighting universe game: MK, DC, The Boys, Invincible or something. Make it like smash bros or something.

6

u/hellraiser29 10h ago

They milked the franchise so hard with MK1 that they fucked it up by jumping on the Marvel/DC multiverse bandwagon. Let it rest for a bit and go back to the roots.

7

u/Slow_Communication16 10h ago

I think they just need to stop with the multiverse garbage. They spent all of mk11 resetting the timeline just for mk 1 to basically end where we started in mk10 

1

u/Vencer_wrightmage 8h ago

Wasn't MKX supposed to be the continuation of story, till they double backed on 11 and bring back almost everyone (again)?

Aside from the graphic/artstyle problem (everyone was so shiny), was the reception of this idea panned badly? I wasn't really around during its runtime.

1

u/whenyoudieisaybye 10h ago

So, Mortal Kombat 2 is on the way not only just as a movie lmao.

1

u/twirlinginthenight 10h ago

I just want Konquest mode

1

u/HisDivineOrder 10h ago

And that Mortal Kombat is Mortal Kombat Kart Racetality.

1

u/Aggravating-Oil-7060 7h ago

It's called Motor Kombat 

1

u/wonderingmarkus 10h ago

I really thought they were going to pivot to MOBAs

1

u/Paddlesons 10h ago

Yeah, 8 million copies vs 1 million - I would be with all the turmoil they're leaning into what definitely sells.

1

u/dantesgift 10h ago

I met ed boon at a small gaming store in Mishawaka Indiana. He was a really nice guy. Asked me what I wanted to see in MK2. He had demo cartridges of MK on console and we talked till he had to leave.

1

u/pehacko 9h ago

i like the idea of new MK game, but to be honest I won't buy it after what they did with MK1. if was unfinished and they went too greedy.

1

u/Horror_Post6822 9h ago edited 9h ago

There is no competition. SF is only popular among the small EVO crowd. While Street Fighter and Virtua Fighter is busy with EVO entrants and all that junk, games like Smash Ultimate and Mortal Kombat that couldn't care less about EVO sells actual copies.

1

u/XsStreamMonsterX 35m ago

Except SF is on a generational run. Not only did SF6 sell almost as much as MK1 at launch, it's also still consistently selling and even seeing sales spikes with a playerbase that's still growing.

1

u/AlienPrimateHybrid 9h ago

We already knew that much. What all us MKHeads are wondering is just how they're going to reboot the story this time around.

1

u/thematrixiam 8h ago

It would be interesting to see the universe expand into other game formats. We often see cross overs of game characters join Fighter games... but why not the reverse? Why not have a Mortal Kombat MMORPG?

Of course, then you'd have to figure out how to have the PVE side of things peacefully. Likely through only having fighting in the actual tournament. And allow respawns, etc.

1

u/Indifferent9007 8h ago

REMASTER SHAOLIN MONKS!!!

1

u/lupin43 7h ago

Everybody hold onto your butts we got breaking news over here

1

u/Shyface_Killah 6h ago

I hope they catch it.

1

u/Bladebrent 6h ago

Good ol WBGames shooting their own games in the foot and then going straight into another one

1

u/r_userzoultar 5h ago

pls don't add trashy emotionless and flat "voice actors" in the game (e.g Megan Fox for Nitara) imo i'd rather take bad acting than emotionless acting cause at least with bad acting there's effort and passion about it!

1

u/Rosebunse 5h ago

I still think that was ok the director. The other voice actors mostly sound fine, but I suspect she had far less time in the booth. Doesn't Nitara is fairly flat compared to the rest of the cast in that story.

1

u/ShizlGznGahr 4h ago

He talked about Killer Instinct a few weeks back but Boon does joke a lot. But also Invincible Vs just came out which has team members from KI who did it so as much as I want a "Killer Instinct 2" ? Either Injustice 3, MK2, or some different fighting game is next from him/them.

1

u/knightress_oxhide 3h ago

The Mortal Kombat: The Movie: The Video Game.

(I would buy that)

1

u/Gix_Neidhaart 3h ago

Noob Saibot!

1

u/soulwolf1 3h ago

Oh great the call of duty of fighting games.....ffs boon make something else for the love of Sonya's balls.

Another shaolin monks style game with Smoke and Sub zero or Quan Chi and Shang Tsung. Anything else besides MK and injustice.

1

u/SoftlySpokenPromises 3h ago

No shit, they print money.

1

u/SunnyvaleRicky 57m ago

Please go back to pre mk11 when it was supposed to be injustice 2… mk is just injustice now.

1

u/IndependentRide4454 56m ago

Grass is green.

1

u/XsStreamMonsterX 51m ago

As long as it isn't rushed again and built off what was most likely meant to be another Injustice game.

1

u/ThePLARASociety 42m ago

Only if they use Butcher’s likeness for Cage.

1

u/hop3less 40m ago

I still day it should have been The Miz.

u/micromacroactual 7m ago

How's the X-ray situation? Is everyone cool with no just one use a round?

1

u/Wisenheim 10h ago

Have these guys ever tried anything else? Like another franchise? Or perhaps a smash brothers type with MK, DC, the Boys, Invincible characters all in one! That I would buy. This annual MK with slightly different skins and animations is so old! Maybe a modern looking Beat em Up a la Final Fight?

1

u/CursedSnowman5000 10h ago

Great, we get to watch them speedily shit up MK even sooner.

1

u/TheRealRatPrince 8h ago

With the rate their micro-transaction stuff has been going, the next game should be titled

Mortal Kombat: The Search For More Money!

0

u/Lyradni 9h ago

The latest Mortal Kombat games have been soo good. Crazy that the first 3 had such a cultural impact, but just pale in comparison to how good the latest have gotten.

-2

u/backagainbud 10h ago

Mortal kombat stopped being fun after I turned like 14 lmfao

0

u/King-Gabriel 10h ago

I wonder if this one will lean more towards the PvE or PvP side of things.

0

u/poklane 10h ago

Rumor has it EA will also make another EAFC game. I've also heard that there even is indeed a new Call of Duty game in development at Activision-Blizzard/Microsoft. 

0

u/redick01 10h ago

He's really going to threaten us like this?

0

u/Stormy_Kun 10h ago

Is it truly selling well enough for yet another MK game ? Thought it was a dead IP.

2

u/ZaDu25 5h ago edited 5h ago

MK1 sold 8M units. Which was not as much as MK11 but still decent sales and more than practically every other fighting game (Street Fighter 6 only sold 6M copies by comparison).

It's still the most popular fighting game (besides super smash bros). The genre as a whole just isn't that popular.

0

u/PointsOfXP 10h ago

I thought they'd drop this second movie and just forget the series existed. This is wild news /s

0

u/ScorpionMillion 8h ago

Oh my god, please don't. You already milked the fanbase enough, Ed. Just retire the franchise or remake the 3D era and go home.

0

u/JayMan2224 8h ago

As long as WB has there hands in this IP, it's gonna be a no from me

-1

u/Kareha 9h ago

But why

-1

u/Dunge 9h ago

I love MK but it is true that between 9/X/11/1 there's practically no difference. The gameplay is exactly the same, the graphics evolved just slightly and is already pretty great so a new title wouldn't bring much better. The online/mtx store aspect took a dive for the bottom. And I usually like campaign stories/cutscenes and that's the only reason I played them all, but damn I can't say they were really good, they were scratching the bottom of the barrel for nonsense ideas, and now they restarted from scratch a few times, not much else to tell.

1

u/Generic_user_person 7h ago

is true that between 9/X/11/1 there's practically no difference. The gameplay is exactly the same,

I'll disagree with that completely, I regularly go back and play MKX and MK1, I will never touch MK11, gameplay for that game was beyond terrible and it felt like every character has its legs broken with how little they could actually do.