Warner Bros. has confirmed what Mortal Kombat 1 players suspected following the recent launch of the Definitive Edition: the game will receive no further DLC characters or story expansions.
Mortal Kombat 1 has sold 5 million copies, bringing the total franchise sales to 100 million. Mortal Kombat 11 became the series' best-selling title, surpassing Mortal Kombat X's previous record of nearly 11 million global sales shortly after its release. By 2022, Mortal Kombat 11 had exceeded 15 million copies sold worldwide. It's clear that Mortal Kombat 1's performance has fallen short of earlier entries in the franchise.
In a statement posted on the official Mortal Kombat social media account, Warner Bros. acknowledged that this news will disappoint the community, "but our NetherRealm team must redirect its efforts toward our next project to ensure it meets our highest standards."
Warner Bros. did not specify the nature of this upcoming project, but current rumors suggest it will be Injustice 3, continuing NetherRealm's DC-based fighting game series.
The complete statement reads as follows:
We've heard the community's requests for continued support of Mortal Kombat 1. While we'll maintain the game with balance updates and technical fixes, we will not be releasing additional DLC characters or story chapters moving forward.
We recognize this decision will disappoint our fans, but our NetherRealm team needs to concentrate fully on the next project to deliver the best possible experience.
The March 2025 release of the T-1000 guest character, which arrived a year and a half after Mortal Kombat 1's initial launch, now stands as the game's final major content addition. For comparison, NetherRealm announced in July 2021 that it had begun development on its next project (which became Mortal Kombat 1) and would therefore cease DLC production for Mortal Kombat 11. That announcement came two years and three months after Mortal Kombat 11's release. Today's statement arrives just one year and eight months following Mortal Kombat 1's debut.
Players are recalling previous statements from NetherRealm's chief developer Ed Boon, who had promised extended support for the game. Many are now referencing a September 2024 tweet from Boon, where he attempted to reassure fans concerned about the studio moving on by stating: "NetherRealm remains fully committed to supporting Mortal Kombat 1 for the foreseeable future."
Mortal Kombat 1 experienced a brief resurgence in January with the secret Floyd encounter, a pink ninja character that developer Boon had been hinting at for years. This triggered an engaging community-wide investigation that temporarily revitalized the game. However, this proved to be an isolated highlight in what many dedicated Mortal Kombat fans consider an overall disappointing release.
What lies ahead for the Mortal Kombat franchise? Parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has indicated it continues to believe in the brutal fighting series' potential. In November, CEO David Zaslav stated that the company intends to focus its gaming division on just four core franchises, with Mortal Kombat being one of them. The film adaptation Mortal Kombat 2 is scheduled for release later this year.
