Over the years, NetherRealm Studios has toned down the sexuality of the female fighters in Mortal Kombat. In older releases, many female fighters would wear bikini-like attire and armor that offered roughly zero protection. But times are changing, and as gamers and the gaming community grow in maturity, so are games. And we’ve seen this with Mortal Kombat 11, which has much more appropriate attire for its female fighters than the series has had in the past. In other words, Jade, Cassie, and co., look like they are actually gearing up for a fight to the death and not a swim suit contest.
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Speaking to Polygon, art director on the game Steve Beran touched on this briefly, noting that NetherRealm’s design is “getting more mature and respectful.”
“Our character lead, Brendan George, has been a breath of fresh air of just introducing new ideas,” said Beran. “Our design is just getting more mature and respectful. You’re not going to wear a bikini to a fight. You’re not going to be showing so much skin. I think it’s just what the game is about: You’re going in to fight for your life, and you’re not going to be wearing such scantily clad items.”
That said, Beran understands that this will disappoint some fans. There’s some diehard Mortal Kombat fans who simply never want things to change, and then there’s also some people who will scream about censorship in politically motivated rants. Beran and NetherRealm Studios knows this will be an issue for some fans, but that doesn’t mean they regret making the change.
“I’m sure that will disappoint some fans,” said Beran. “We don’t have bathing suit fighters, and I think that’s fine. If people are disappointed, I don’t regret making that change by any means.”
Mortal Kombat 11 is in development for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. At the moment of publishing, barring any last minute delay, it will release on April 23, unless you’re in Europe and getting the game on Switch, then you will need to wait until May 10.
For more news, media, and information on the highly-anticipated fighting game, be sure to peep all of our previous coverage of it by clicking right here.
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