With the imminent release of Mortal Kombat 1 – a reboot of sorts following the outcome of Mortal Kombat 11’s two story chapters – series co-creator Ed Boon has unsurprisingly been a busy man. From being on the interview circuit, to challenging fans to a game of “Truth or Troll” on social media, to a panel at SDCC, Boon has continued to reveal snippets of information about MK1 and tease future announcements. The latest details about MK1 from SDCC are still dripping out, and Boon has taken to his social media platforms to answer fan questions regarding the game. Below is a round-up of some of the latest information on Mortal Kombat 1 – straight from the Boon himself. Please note some of this information is up to interpretation as Boon is very careful when choosing his words.
At the Mortal Kombat SDCC panel it was revealed:
- The Krypt is being replaced with a “very expansive” single player mode.
- Li Mei, Tanya, Baraka added to main roster.
- Darrius added to Kameo roster.
- Reiko and Motaro have a presence in the story, with potentially Reiko being main roster and Motaro being a Kameo.
- Nitara may appear in Mk1 – a flying character was shown briefly in the Reiko/Motaro story scene.
- Kombat Pack 1 revealed: Homelander, Peacemaker, Omni-Man, Quan-Chi, Takeda, and Ermac added to main roster. Ferra, Johnny Cage, Khameleon, Mavado and Tremor added to Kameo roster.
- An additional finisher type will likely be in the game: one of Animality / Babality / Friendship.
The roster is shaping up to be a great mix of old and new Mortal Kombat. By re-introducing 3D era characters, NetherRealm is able to excite long-term fans of the series who enjoyed the characters when they first appeared, and also introduce them to newer players as ‘new’ characters.
MK fans have been hoping for a new version of 3D era mode ‘Konquest’, an RPG-like mode that allowed players to travel across the realms and speak to MK alumni. Whether or not the upcoming single player mode is truly a successor to Konquest remains to be seen, but with the amount of fans that have been asking for this mode to return in some form, it’s a good bet that the mode will feature Konquest like mechanics at the very least.
In an interview with Comicbook Gaming, Ed Boon announced that Mortal Kombat 1 will be supported for years, saying “I think we’ll be supporting this game at least as long as Mortal Kombat 11. I would suspect even longer, but a lot of the fun of releasing additional characters after we launched the game is seeing the relationships.”
This is excellent news as MK11 had great support with multiple kombat packs and a story expansion. A steady flow of new content to the game with a fair microtransaction system will allow NetherRealm to keep exciting players long beyond the release date.
During a trip to the hospital recently, Boon had some time in the waiting room to answer fan questions:
- MK1 will have a presence at EVO in August including roster reveals
- The story mode of MK1 will be similar to the length of MKX and MK11’s story modes.
- A trailer will release prior to EVO
- Hotaru will not appear in MK1
- Fans shouldn’t give up hope on Nitara appearing in MK1.
- Game modes will be shown “soon”.
All signs are pointing to EVO in August for a blowout of MK1 information. It looks like by the end of the event the roster will be close to complete. The length of the story mode seems standard for a modern MK game, which is the perfect length to tell a compelling story using the modern MK story mode format.
In typical Ed Boon fashion, here’s what he had to say to a fan’s request for Sonya Blade information. The fan favourite character is currently missing from the main roster of MK1.
Boon also had a shorter Q&A session on Threads with a few interesting details:
- Krossplay is still planned for Mk1
- A BattlePass system is unlikely.
- There are “plenty more” trailers to release
While the battlepass system was a breath of fresh air for players when it first started gaining popularity, it has quickly become predictable and at times unnecesary. Almost every game that has a multiplayer element has a battlepass system these days, and while better than the predatory lootboxes that plagued games before it, the battlepass can be (and in many cases, is) used to make players sink their time into a game through slow earn rates, filler content, and the fear of missing out through a time limit. MK1 rejecting the battlepass system is a good sign and although there is a microtransaction system involved in the game, hopefully it will be fair to players.
There is still a lot unknown about Mortal Kombat 1, with anticipation building for the remaining roster reveals and the announcement of the new single player mode. With the MK1 Beta scheduled for 18th Aug – 21st Aug, there’s sure to be many more updates to come in the near future. But from the small chunk of the game that’s been shown so far, Mortal Kombat 1 is looking like a game full of Kuality.