Mortal Kombat 1

• 1. Introduction

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  Mortal Kombat 1 is a fighting game that Japan, South Korea and China have banned because of its violence and gore. NetherRealm Studios developed it, and Warner Bros. Games published it. It is the twelfth main entry in the Mortal Kombat series, and the franchise's second reboot after 2011's Mortal Kombat.

  A reboot is a risky move for a series with such a long history. Who survives when a whole universe is rebuilt? Which old enemies end up fighting side by side? What do a fighting game's partner characters, guest stars and online modes add to the formula? And why did one version of the same game earn a far harsher verdict than all the others?

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• 2. The Hourglass Reset

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  Kronika's Hourglass is the object that makes this story possible. After defeating Kronika and Shang Tsung, the Fire God Liu Kang uses the Hourglass to recreate the universe. He then hands control of it to Geras and becomes Earthrealm's protector. Over time he builds a tenuous alliance with Outworld, held together by the continuing Mortal Kombat tournaments.

  In the present day, Shang Tsung has fallen far. He is a powerless Outworlder who scrapes out a living selling quack medicine. Then a mysterious figure named "Damashi" approaches him. Damashi tells him he could become a sorcerer and that unseen forces are working against him.

  For the newest tournament, Liu Kang recruits an unlikely team. Kung Lao and Raiden are farmhands. Johnny Cage is a financially struggling Hollywood actor. Kenshi Takahashi is a former yakuza gangster. Raiden is eventually named Earthrealm's champion and wins the tournament.

  Geras later tells Liu Kang that Shang Tsung has regained his abilities and now advises Outworld's Empress Sindel. Liu Kang sends Kenshi, Kung Lao and Johnny to investigate. In Outworld's wastelands they meet Tarkatans, who are victims of the Tarkat virus outbreak. There they watch Shang Tsung extract bone marrow from the Tarkatans' leader, Baraka. The Earthrealmers intervene, but Shang Tsung escapes to his laboratory.

  With Baraka's help, the group finds that laboratory. They stop Shang Tsung from apparently infecting Mileena, Outworld's crown princess, with the Tarkat virus. Mileena attacks them anyway and blinds Kenshi. Shang Tsung then injects her with a serum that controls her symptoms. Her sister, Princess Kitana, arrives with General Shao and captures the Earthrealmers. Shang Tsung misleads them, then meets his ally and fellow sorcerer Quan Chi.

  The captives are taken to the Flesh Pits. Reptile, a shapeshifting outcast, helps them escape. They then meet Ashrah, a Netherrealm Demoness searching for absolution. She reveals that Quan Chi is building devices that can steal souls on a massive scale. Quan Chi uses several souls to create Ermac, but the group defeats them and destroys one of the soul stealers. Everyone except Baraka returns to Earthrealm to warn Liu Kang.

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• 3. The Stranger Called Damashi

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  Sub-Zero, Scorpion and Smoke, warriors of the Lin Kuei, receive Liu Kang's order to destroy the soul stealers and capture Shang Tsung. Shang Tsung sways Sub-Zero to his side with a promise of access to the undead Dragon Army. Scorpion and Smoke escape. Geras then investigates further and tells Liu Kang that "Damashi" comes from a parallel timeline.

  With the help of Constable Li Mei, Liu Kang returns to Outworld. He brings Sindel and her daughters evidence of the sorcerers' treachery and explains how he has influenced the current timeline. Shao tries to ambush the group but is defeated and captured. Earthrealmers and Outworlders then team up against the remaining soul stealers, only to be ambushed by Ermac.

  Mileena defeats Ermac, and that frees the soul of her father, Emperor Jerrod, who is also Sindel's husband. Jerrod takes control of Ermac's body. When the group confronts the sorcerers, "Damashi" joins them and is revealed as the previous timeline's Shang Tsung. He explains that his fight with Liu Kang over the Hourglass fractured time. That created a separate timeline in which he defeated Kronika and Liu Kang and became a Titan.

  Titan Shang Tsung intends to absorb Liu Kang's timeline. He betrays the sorcerers and summons warriors from his own world. Liu Kang's group narrowly drives them off, but Sindel is fatally wounded. She names Mileena her successor before dying, and Jerrod absorbs her soul.

  The present-day Shang Tsung joins a temporary alliance and guesses that other timelines exist beyond his counterpart's knowledge. Geras adds that he has kept Liu Kang's Titan powers in storage, just in case. While the others go to destroy the Dragon Army, Liu Kang regains those powers. He reunites with friends from the previous timeline to recruit forces for the coming battle. Anticipating this, Titan Shang Tsung summons an army of evil counterparts.

  After a grueling battle, Liu Kang's group prevails, and he erases Titan Shang Tsung and that whole timeline from existence. He returns his recruits to their native timelines and congratulates his own champions over dinner. Then he leaves to help Scorpion and Smoke found the Shirai Ryu clan and prepare Earthrealm for future conflicts.

  A mid-credits scene shows alternate timeline warriors led by Titan Havik watching the aftermath. Havik feels the fight ended too quickly. He vows to start a new, longer battle.

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• 4. Khaos Reigns

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  The wedding of Scorpion and Harumi is where the expansion Khaos Reigns begins, and it ends in an ambush. Sub-Zero leads the Lin Kuei against the Shirai Ryu, joined by two armored warriors, Sektor and Cyrax. He has tricked Cyrax into believing that Scorpion and Liu Kang betrayed Earthrealm. When Cyrax learns the truth, she turns on him and helps the Shirai Ryu and the wedding guests capture Sub-Zero and Sektor. Scorpion refuses to forgive Cyrax, though he shows her mercy at Harumi's request.

  Liu Kang takes Sub-Zero and Sektor to Mileena for judgment, because they aided Shao's rebellion. He hopes to persuade her to spare them and ease further conflict. During the negotiation, Titan Havik attacks. He once fought alongside Titan Shang Tsung and now wants to merge other timelines into his own. His Khaosrealm warriors capture Geras, and Sub-Zero pursues them but is captured as well.

  Havik tells Sub-Zero his plan. He will combine Geras' time crystals with six artifacts called the Kamidogu, destroy the multiverse, and reshape it in his own image. Then he begins experimenting on Sub-Zero.

  Havik traps the group in a deadly maze, and Rain sacrifices himself to save Sektor and Tanya. Tanya then negotiates with Orin, a powerful dragon held captive, and the group escapes into Havik's citadel. Inside, they meet Sub-Zero, whom Havik has transformed into a dark being of chaos called Noob Saibot. They defeat Saibot, rescue Geras, and flee with the Kamidogu.

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• 5. Fighting Systems

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  Fifteen Kameo Fighters come with the base game, and six more were added later as downloadable content. These partners are separate from the main roster, and players choose one before each fight. Most are drawn from across the franchise, along with two brand-new characters. They work much like the tag assist fighters from the Towers of Time mode in Mortal Kombat 11. Some appear as supporting characters in the Story Mode, and some main fighters have a Kameo counterpart.

  Each Kameo can help in two ways. Summons can be used while the player stays in one place. Ambushes can be used regardless of what the player is doing. Kameos can also perform their own Fatalities and Brutalities, and the chosen partner changes how much health a player has in a fight.

  Fatal Blows, introduced in Mortal Kombat 11, return and can be triggered when a player's health falls below 30%. This time the player and the Kameo deliver the attack together. The most significant hits are highlighted with effects like the X-Ray moves of Mortal Kombat X. The airborne combo system from Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and the action spin-off Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks also comes back.

  Invasions is a seasonal mode, and each season lasts around six weeks with its own board and theme. It blends fighting with board game and role-playing elements. Players move around the board and finish a challenge on every space they land on. Rewards include skins, in-game currency and concept art. The plot-driven Story Mode and the traditional Towers mode also return. For multiplayer, Local mode puts two players on one console, Online mode matches players worldwide, and Tournament mode hosts a tournament with a unified rule set.

  Online play uses rollback netcode, and this is the first Mortal Kombat game with cross-play and cross-progression. The Nintendo Switch version launched without either. Cross-play reached the Switch on the 27th of February 2024, and the King of the Hill online mode is expected to support cross-play in the future.

  A free update released alongside Khaos Reigns brought back Animalities, a finishing move first seen in Mortal Kombat 3. It also appeared in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Mortal Kombat Trilogy. The move lets a player morph into an animal and maul the opponent.

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• 6. Making and Launching

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  In July 2021, NetherRealm Studios disclosed that it was working on a new project after ending support for Mortal Kombat 11 from 2019. Andrew Bowen, the voice actor for Johnny Cage, hinted in a hastily deleted tweet that the next installment was in development. In February 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced during a 2022 fourth-quarter earnings call that a new entry would arrive later that year.

  On the 18th of May 2023, NetherRealm Studios announced Mortal Kombat 1 with a release date of the 19th of September 2023. Players who preordered the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S versions received access to a beta in August. The studio also promised cross-platform play and cross-progression after launch. NetherRealm built the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions itself, and QLOC made the Windows version. Shiver Entertainment, which built the Switch port of Mortal Kombat 11, handled the Nintendo Switch version with Saber Interactive.

  In August 2023, the actor Dave Bautista appeared in a trailer that paid homage to the 1993 "Mortal Monday" commercial for the original 1992 Mortal Kombat. The following month, the actress Megan Fox was revealed as the voice of Nitara. Players reacted very poorly to her performance once the game was out.

  On the 14th of September 2023, buyers of the Kollector's Edition and Premium Edition could start playing on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S. Buyers of the Standard Edition could start on the 19th of September 2023.

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• 7. Guests and Secrets

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  Twenty-two playable characters make up the base roster, and every one had appeared in earlier Mortal Kombat games. Several had not been seen since Mortal Kombat: Armageddon in 2006. Shang Tsung was offered as a pre-order bonus, and two Kombat Packs later added six playable characters each. Three of the characters in each pack were guests.

  Jean-Claude Van Damme lends his likeness and voice to a Johnny Cage skin, sold as premium downloadable content. The developers had previously tried to have Van Damme play Cage in the original Mortal Kombat.

  Kombat Pack 1 was announced during San Diego Comic-Con 2023. It brought back Ermac, Quan Chi and Takeda from Mortal Kombat X in 2015. It also added three guests: Omni-Man from the Invincible series by Image Comics, Peacemaker from DC Comics, and Homelander from The Boys by Dynamite Entertainment. The details of the pack leaked early through a listing on Amazon Italy.

  J.K. Simmons was announced to reprise Omni-Man, timed to the trailer for the second season of the animated series Invincible. In August 2023, Jamieson Price was revealed as Ermac's returning voice. During Gamescom 2023, Ed Boon confirmed that John Cena would voice Peacemaker, after playing the character in the 2021 film The Suicide Squad and the series Peacemaker. In November 2023, Antony Starr revealed in an Instagram comment that he would not return as Homelander. In June 2024, Jake Green was revealed as the new actor.

  Boon also revealed some near misses. Around launch, he said the team tried to get John Wick as a guest character, with Keanu Reeves supplying a skin for Kenshi. He added that the team had tried to get Michonne from The Walking Dead before choosing Omni-Man.

  At San Diego Comic Con 2024, the Khaos Reigns expansion was revealed alongside a fighter pack of six new characters. Noob Saibot and female versions of Sektor and Cyrax were released on the 24th of September 2024, the same day as the expansion. Ghostface from the Scream franchise, Conan the Barbarian from his 1982 film, and the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) were announced for later release.

  Roger L. Jackson reprised his voice role as Ghostface, while Skeet Ulrich, who played Billy Loomis in the first film, supplies his likeness for the brief moments when Ghostface is unmasked. Robert Patrick returns as both the face and the voice of the T-1000. Arnold Schwarzenegger provides his likeness for Conan, who is voiced by Chris Cox, the voice of the T-800 in Mortal Kombat 11.

  On the 21st of January 2025, the release of Conan came with an update adding Floyd, a pink-colored ninja who is a non-playable secret boss. His color scheme is a direct reference to the band Pink Floyd. As with Reptile in the original Mortal Kombat and Smoke and Noob Saibot in Mortal Kombat II, players fight him after completing various challenges. He uses moves from all the other male ninjas, much like Chameleon in earlier titles.

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• 8. Reception and Reach

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  Metacritic reported "generally favorable reviews" for Mortal Kombat 1, and 87% of critics on OpenCritic recommended it. Most versions drew praise for their visual fidelity, roster, first story mode and new mechanics. Critics criticized the microtransactions and the second story mode.

  The Nintendo Switch version was a different story. Critics panned it for poor graphics, extensive load times, poor performance and numerous bugs. Mitchell Saltzman of IGN gave the PlayStation 5 version 8 out of 10 and the Switch port a 3. He wrote: "There's a hint of a great fighting game still peeking through the blurry backgrounds, but its horrendous load times, inconsistent framerate, muddy visuals, and plethora of bugs make the Switch version an altogether aggravating way to play what is a great fighting game on other platforms."

  Series creator Ed Boon responded to outlets including BBC Newsbeat. He said: "Anything that we see that is not acceptable will absolutely be addressed," and "the Switch version will be supported, like we did with Mortal Kombat 11!"

  On the 27th of January 2024, Warner Bros. Games announced that the game had sold 3 million units. By August 2024 it had passed 4 million copies, and it was the eighth best-selling video game in the United States in 2023. Reports in January 2025 said it had passed 5 million. By August 2025 it had sold over 6 million, and by April 2026 the total had passed 8 million units.

  At the 2023 Golden Joystick Awards, the game was recognized for Best Multiplayer Game and for Best Game Trailer, for the "It's In Our Blood" trailer. The Game Awards 2023 listed it for Best Fighting Game and Innovation in Accessibility. In 2024 it appeared at the Game Audio Network Guild Awards in many categories, including Audio of the Year. It was also listed at the 27th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards and the 22nd Visual Effects Society Awards. In 2025 it appeared again at the 28th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards for Khaos Reigns.

  The game has also reached other screens. Footage appears in the episode "The Iron Pot" of Creature Commandos. Erik Campbell is seen playing it in Final Destination Bloodlines.

  On the 14th of May 2025, NetherRealm Studios released Mortal Kombat 1: Definitive Edition. It contains all post-launch content, including Kombat Pack 1 and Kombat Pack 2, the Khaos Reigns story expansion, and earlier pre-order and cosmetic items. The team said it would keep supporting the game but planned no further DLC characters or story chapters, and would shift its focus to its next project.

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