For a while now, a persistent rumor has been popping up about Mortal Kombat 1. Specifically, the rumor that there will not be a Kombat Pack 3, nor any other story expansions within the game. This was a huge shocker at first, as NetherRealm Studios had promised earlier in 2024 that there would be “many years of content” for the game, especially given its multiversal storylines and potential for bringing lots of characters in through it. However, one after another, key insiders who have been accurate about the franchise’s past have made it clear that this won’t be the case, and more have weighed in on this future.
On Twitter, insider The Thiny, who often covers news and rumors of any kind about this fighting game franchise, noted in a tweet yesterday that everything was indeed “over.” He heard from another insider that things were being stopped in terms of development and that he personally has “no hope left” for the future of the game.
Now, The Thiny was willing to admit one thing that could be a “spark of hope” for Mortal Kombat 1. Specifically, it seems that just about every insider had gotten a “different list” of what the Kombatants would be in the third Kombat Pack. The first reveal of the pack, which came alongside the news of the canceled content, was that five of the six new characters would be familiar faces from the franchise’s lore as a way to “thank players” for sticking with them and then a “highly requested” 3rd party character would finish out the pack. However, others had gotten much different versions of what the pack would be. Thus, as some commenters noted in the tweet, all of this could be an elaborate lie.
Yet, as The Thiny fairly points out, same as others in the comments, neither WB Games nor NetherRealm Studios has done anything to dissuade or dismiss the rumors. In fact, when Ed Boon was tagged in a post on Blue Sky about the leaks and the “doom and gloom’ they posted about, and the poster noted that he hoped the team was doing alright, Ed Boon replied with “I appreciate the kind words.” That’s not a denial of the events, and it would’ve been pretty easy to say, “Don’t worry, things are fine here.”
If this truly is the end of the content, most would agree that the failing point was the pricing for the Khaos Reigns expansion. Its sales were apparently terrible, and that led to the cut content.
