Mortal Kombat fans hoping to relive the glory days of arcade-era gameplay are getting an unexpected gift just in time for the holiday break. After months of anticipation surrounding the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection, Warner Bros. Games has announced that online play is finally arriving in the collection. But there’s a catch: it’s only available for a limited time, and only on Steam, through a special Online Arcade beta. Still, for long-time fans wanting to fight friends and family over Thanksgiving, this surprise online test could not be better timed.
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According to the developers, the goal behind the beta is simple: give players a chance to jump into online matches early while gathering essential performance data. “We know players are looking forward to online lobbies and we want people to be able to play Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection with friends and family over the Thanksgiving holiday,” the team announced. Feedback will be collected through the official Discord, and the developers emphasize this is a work-in-progress preview, not the final online implementation. No timeline was given for how long the online beta would go on, nor when it would come to platforms outside of PC, though fans did get confirmation that it would.
Online Arcade is designed to recreate the feeling of gathering in a basement game room or classic arcade. Up to 16 players can join a room, playing any combination of games in the Legacy Kollection that support online play. Up to eight matches can happen at once, with players free to compete or spectate. Spectator Mode is a standout feature, designed with streamers and informal tournaments in mind. Fans can watch matches, commentate, organize brackets, or stream the action directly. For a collection built on the legacy of competitive play, this is as close as modern tech gets to the arcade-era “crowd around the cabinet” energy.
With online play, players can create public rooms, visible in the lobby list with connection quality indicators, or private rooms, available only via invitation. Each room shows how many players are inside and how many are spectating before you join. Game selection is completely open: anyone in the room can start any supported Mortal Kombat title, and every game runs as a round-robin “winner stays” format, just like classic arcades. Spectators can queue up to challenge the current champion or simply watch.
Players have to opt into the Online Arcade Beta, which is only available through Steam. To join the beta on Steam:
- Log in to Steam with the account that owns the Kollection.
- Right-click Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection Properties.
- Select Betas.
- Enter the code: PublicOnlineArcadeBeta.
- Opt into online_arcade_public_beta.
- The game will automatically update.
- To leave, return to the Betas tab and select None.
Betas and demos are often the best way to gauge fan opinion of a game or to test features. They are also used to collect feedback from the community and make changes as needed. Developers sometimes release demos and betas ahead of a game’s release to generate hype and interest, or they may test out requested features post-launch. Events like these are fluid and can often take many forms in the gaming industry, and are becoming more and more common.
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