Mortal Kombat 1 was a big success for NetherRealm Studios in various ways, with one of the biggest ones being a true reboot of the franchise that allowed them to go in various new directions given the “new world” that Liu Kang had created. The reaction to the game was very positive, praising the game’s enhanced visuals, new gameplay mechanics, and more. Arguably, the best part about the new game was the first Kombat Pack, which not only brought forth classic fighters back into the mix with new backstories but brought in new 3rdparty arrivals like Omni-Man, Homelander, and Peacemaker.
Then, at San Diego Comic-Con, Mortal Kombat 1 dropped the reveal of its “Year Two” content, announcing the “Khaos Rising” story expansion alongside the reveals of the six characters in the Kombat Pack 2. As noted by Nintendo Life, Ed Boon was at SDCC for the announcement and made it clear that this game has a lot more to offer:
“We had Mortal Kombat 11, Aftermath and then Ultimate, right – so we would keep adding characters, add story whatnot, so that’s kind of like the way we’re doing our games now…we were pretty sure when we launched Mortal Kombat 1 that we were going to be doing years of content, so this is year two.”
That’s pretty definitive in the best of ways. While we can’t guarantee that they’ll go full-tilt every single year by bringing in new story content and Kombat Packs, we can say that NetherRealm Studios is getting ready for the long haul, and that’s to be praised.
Another element to consider here is that this could make San Diego Comic-Con their “go-to place” for such announcements about new characters. Given the venue’s grand stage and attention, it’s the perfect place to showcase them, and it’ll guarantee them a media presence each go around the sun.
So, given that the newest pack brought in unique characters like Ghostface, Conan The Barbarian and the T-1000 Terminator, who might be next in “Year Three” and beyond? The irony is that we can’t fathom a guess because many of the characters that have been brought into the game so far, and in the past, have been shocking. We’ve had the Xenomorph, Robocop, Freddy Kruger, Jason Voorhees, the Predator, and so many more.
Ed Boon has even personally said he wanted to bring in someone like John Wick, so anyone is on the board, so long as they’re ready for Kombat.
