Mortal Kombat Boss Has Some Bad News for Fans

NetherRealm Studios has been alternating between Injustice and Mortal Kombat since 2011. That year, Mortal Kombat 9 was released. Two years later in 2013, Injustice: Gods Among Us was released. Then in 2015, Mortal Kombat X. in 2017, Injustice 2 was released. And then in 2019, Mortal Kombat 11 was released. The expectation was this pattern would continue and Injustice 3 would release in 2021. It’s now 2022 and we still haven’t even gotten a reveal trailer for what NetherRealm Studios is working on, let alone a release. And according to a variety of rumors, what it is working on, isn’t Injustice 3. So, what’s going on? Well, we still don’t know, but what we do know is that we aren’t going to find out anytime soon.

Over on Twitter, NetherRealm Studios boss Ed Boon shared a new post celebrating the 30-year anniversary of Mortal Kombat. Replying to this, a fan asked Boon “speaking of the 30th anniversary, are we expecting something big soon or no?” Boon responded to this inquiry with “Soon? No.” 

Now, everything here is a little vague, but the implication is that whatever NetherRealm Studios is working on is not going to be revealed soon. Of course, “soon” itself is vague and subjective, but it’s nonetheless not the news Mortal Kombat and Injustice fans wanted to hear.

Boon and the rest of NetherRealm Studios remain coy about what the Chicago-based team is working on. The only tease fans have gotten came from Boon earlier this year, who seem to suggest the project is bigger than anything the studio has ever worked on. 

“I can say that for 10 years, we were releasing Mortal Kombat and Injustice, Mortal Kombat and Injustice,” said Boon at the time. “When we broke that pattern, there was a lot of speculation of what we would be doing next. I can tell you there was a reason for it, and when we announce our next game, it’ll make a lot more sense. At this point, I’ll get in a lot of trouble if I say anything more.”

NetherRealm Studios’ last game — Mortal Kombat 11 — was revealed at The Game Awards in December, so it’s possible we won’t see its new game until then, assuming this history repeats.