Ed Boon, Mortal Kombat 1's development chief, recently shared a sneak peek of the T-1000 Terminator's upcoming Fatality on social media, simultaneously teasing "future DLC." This reveal coincided with the announcement that Mortal Kombat 1 has surpassed five million copies sold, a significant jump from the previously reported four million, following the release of the Conan the Barbarian guest character.
Boon tweeted a short video showcasing one of the T-1000's Fatalities, a thrilling homage to the iconic truck chase scene from Terminator 2. The accompanying tweet, “With Conan getting into player’s hands, we are excited to keep trucking forward with future DLC!”, has sparked considerable excitement within the Mortal Kombat community.
While the phrase "keep trucking forward" could simply refer to the imminent release of the T-1000, many speculate it hints at additional DLC characters beyond the current Khaos Reigns expansion. This expansion includes Cyrax, Sektor, Noob Saibot, Ghostface, and Conan the Barbarian, with the T-1000 being the final addition. The question of a potential Kombat Pack 3, or a third wave of DLC characters, has been a topic of much fan discussion, particularly in light of the game's sales success.
Warner Bros. Discovery's continued investment in the Mortal Kombat franchise further fuels this speculation. CEO David Zaslav stated in November that the company plans to double down on four key titles, with Mortal Kombat being one of them. Adding to the anticipation, Boon himself confirmed in September that NetherRealm had decided on its next project three years prior, while promising continued support for Mortal Kombat 1 for an extended period.
Many fans predict NetherRealm's next title will be a third installment in the Injustice fighting game franchise, although this remains unconfirmed. The original Injustice: Gods Among Us launched in 2013, followed by Injustice 2 in 2017. The release of Mortal Kombat 11 in 2019, and subsequently Mortal Kombat 1 in 2023, seemingly broke the studio's previous pattern of alternating between the two franchises.
In a June 2023 interview with IGN, Boon offered some insight into this decision, citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the team's transition to a newer version of the Unreal Engine (Unreal Engine 4 for Mortal Kombat 1, compared to Unreal Engine 3 for Mortal Kombat 11) as contributing factors. He explicitly confirmed, however, that the Injustice franchise remains a possibility for future development.
