‘Mortal Kombat 11’ Confirmed, Coming In 2019

Ever since they finished up work on the much appreciated brawler Injustice 2, we've been wondering what NetherRealm Studios has been cooking up, with rumors that it was making another Mortal Kombat game. And indeed, it is.

During tonight's Game Awards presentation, NetherRealm creative director Ed Boon announced that the next game in the series, Mortal Kombat 11, is indeed coming in 2019. This one looks to be jam-packed with blood-curdling excitement, even more so than what Mortal Kombat XL brought a few years ago.

The trailer provided a good glimpse of the intense action to expect from the game, with Scorpion and a dark version of Raiden going at it in a darkened arena (with some skeletons, natch), delivering thunderous blows to one another before the Thunder God makes his head blow up in his hands.

But then Scorpion re-emerges (from Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3), and he manages to take down Raiden with a fiery blast, beheading him in the process. And as the logo for the game is shown, we get a glimpse at a strange character near some kind of hourglass, who will likely have some involvement in the story. Could time be a factor here -- especially with two Scorpion characters?

A community event for the now-confirmed Mortal Kombat 11 will take place on January 17 in Los Angeles, where we're likely to see some actual gameplay in action, as well as a possible release date.

Some may be questioning the music choice for the game, produced exclusively for the trailer by rapper 21 Savage, as it doesn't really fit into the Mortal Kombat mantra. But it definitely looks like the action caters back to the style that was present with the 2011 version of Mortal Kombat, which released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3; rather than the new style of XL.

Oh, and as we mentioned, it's bloody. Exploding heads, collapsed rib cages, decapitations...and that's just with the first two characters that haven been introduced.

There have been rumors about who will be making the cut and who will be left out this time around, but Boon didn't go into detail since he was in the midst of presenting an award. That said, that community event next month should open a few eyes in terms of who's coming to the party -- and who will die, obviously.

Also, Shao Khan is being offered as a pre-order bonus, and those open up...TOMORROW!

We'll have more information soon. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer above (maybe adjust your volume) and let the bloodletting commence!

Mortal Kombat 11 will likely arrive on April 23, 2019 for Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PC. All eyes are on January for more details!