With the production and support cycle of Mortal Kombat 11 ending over a year ago at this point, little is known as to what NetherRealm Studios is working on next. At this point, it has been three years since we have gotten a new fighter game from the company, so what gives? Where’s the sequel to MK11 (AKA Mortal Kombat 12), what’s the release date, and what other information is out there? Here’s what we know so far.
Everything We Know About Mortal Kombat 12
Given that NetherRealm Studios also works on the Injustice series, it’ll be more likely that Injustice 3 or something related to the franchise will come out before Mortal Kombat 12. Their development cycle in the past has typically been alternating between the MK and Injustice franchises every two years.
With the company possibly working on a Marvel game, not much has been said on the matter of what’ll fully come next. We’re not fully in the dark, though. Even if it may not be that Mortal Kombat 12 is the next game from NetherRealm, something regarding the company’s next big fighting game could be shown off at EVO 2022 in August or The Game Awards in December.
This is purely speculation and builds off of how NetherRealm usually debuted their latest games to the public. As time gets closer to these events, we’ll have a better picture of what’s to come. As for the game’s release date, it would make sense for it to be revealed or hinted at in some capacity.
As for the possible roster this game would have, it’s a cop-out to say that anything goes. However, given that the game has two endings, everything is up in the air. At the end of Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, we saw two endings.
The first one is where Liu Kang assumes control of Kronika’s hourglass and essentially resets time to his liking and we see Great Kung Lao. If NRS takes this route, then the franchise would once again see a possible reboot of the franchise, going before an era where Shang Tsung was the main antagonist. This could mean the possibility of a bigger focus on the Shaolin Monks as well.
The other ending was when Shang Tsung assumed control of Kronika’s crown, creating a reality in which he conquers all the realms. This ending and what happens next would be easier for NetherRealm to introduce characters we haven’t seen since the 3D era of the MK franchise as well as possibly bring new faces who were exclusive to the comics like Erron Black.
Also, whatever Ed Boon posts on Twitter should always be taken with a grain of salt. Unless he starts dropping hints about the next new NRS project and a big gaming event, don’t take it as gospel.
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate is out now for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and series consoles, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Crossplay is available for the game right now only between Xbox and PlayStation.
