“I’ll say, ‘Why don’t we do this?’ and they’ll say, ‘Well, no because in Mortal Kombat 4, we established this happened.’”) So when you see MK2 Scorpion meeting MK11 Scorpion, fighting together or fighting each other, there’s something really cool about that.” (To keep track of the series’s increasingly convoluted storyline, Boon says he relies on MK writers Dominic Cianciolo and Shawn Kittelsen, keepers of the lore. “It really plays on people’s memories of Mortal Kombat. “We really wanted to tap into the nostalgia of the older versions of these characters,” says Boon. Ed Boon (right) at a Mortal Kombat 11 reveal event in January. The new game mixes up these various timelines so that younger and older versions of Mortal Kombat veterans are interacting with each other.
MKX fast-forwarded the series 25 years into the future, giving fans a look at aging versions of classic fighters like Johnny Cage. “The first thing we talk about is, ‘What are we going to do new that hasn’t been done in our previous games?’” he explains. There are some staples we know we don’t want to change up, but we are firm believers that we have to keep changing.”īoon says that the desire to create something different is the starting point for any new Mortal Kombat. “The reason why we’re going stronger than ever is because we’re not afraid well, actually, we are afraid, but we don’t hesitate to make dramatic changes to the formula of the game. “It’s scary, but it’s necessary,” he says. According to creative director and series creator Ed Boon, this desire to keep changing is one of the key reasons Mortal Kombat has managed to stay relevant for so long. MK11 features a redesigned fighting system aimed at more strategic play, along with a much bigger focus on the story.
The most recent release, 2015’s Mortal Kombat X sold 11 million copies, making it the biggest MK release to date.Ĭoming off of a hit like that, you might expect developer NetherRealm Studios to offer more of the same, but with Mortal Kombat 11, which launches today, the team decided to change things up. In fact, Mortal Kombat is arguably more popular now than at any point in history. Which two characters do you want to see revealed for Mortal Kombat 11 this Friday? Let us know in the comments below.The Mortal Kombat series has been around since 1992, but it’s a franchise that has aged surprisingly gracefully.
Mortal Kombat 11 is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on April 23rd. We also saw the recent announcement of three returning Mortal Kombat X newcomers for Mortal Kombat 11: Cassie Cage, Jacqui Briggs, and Erron Black, so the missing puzzle pieces of the game's roster are continuously being put into place. NetherRealm is holding another Kombat Kast later today on which viewers are expecting the official announcement of Kotal Kahn as a playable character.
New Fighter (w/ Game-Play trailer) announce! "Join members of the Mortal Kombat 11 team at our C2E2 panel, Friday (12:45-1:45pm)," Boon wrote in his tweet. Who these characters are is a mystery at this time (obviously), and we haven't seen any hints just yet that might give us an idea of who to expect. Boon says we can expect two new fighter announcements at the expo this Friday: one showcasing a new contender via a gameplay trailer and the unveiling of Mortal Kombat 11's first DLC character. The biggest draw, however, comes in the form of Mortal Kombat 11 character reveals.
NRS will also be showing off more of Mortal Kombat 11's Story Mode, plus some other yet to be announced treats. Ed Boon sent out a tweet earlier this morning with specifics on what the presentation will entail.Īttendees can look forward to a "Making of Mortal Kombat 11" discussion, as well as a behind the scenes look at the game.
If you're in attendance, you can check out the hour-long panel beginning at 12:45 p.m.