FutureMortal Kombatinstallments afterMortal Kombat 1could take their naming conventions from Naughty Dog’sThe Last of Usseries, at least according toMortal Kombatco-creator Ed Boon. Fans were taken by surprise when thelatestMortal Kombatgame was formally announcedearlier this year, as NetherRealm chose to forgo the expected title ofMortal Kombat 12in favor of resetting the series’ numbering back toMortal Kombat 1.
There is an in-universe explanation for this reset, asMortal Kombat 1will mark a new era for the long-running fighting game franchise. After becoming the new Fire God, Liu Kang chose to create a brand-new timeline at the conclusion ofMortal Kombat 11’sAftermathDLC - one that seems to have changed the lives of EarthRealm’s citizens for the better.MK 1’s title reflects this new status quo, but NetherRealm could be looking at another dark and brutal series to inspire the names of any futureMortal Kombatinstallments.
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Mortal Kombatco-creator Ed Boon recently sat down with GamesRadar and revealed what NetherRealm would call a hypothetical follow-up toMortal Kombat 1. He says that it would naturally be calledMortal Kombat 2, or it could take a page fromThe Last of Usand be given a “Part 2” subtitle. “We certainly won’t call it Mortal Kombat 13,” Boon added, seemingly reiterating previous statements thatMortal Kombat 1is more of a fresh start than a continuation of pastMKgames.
Boon went on to say that the higher numbers ofprevious installments like 2011’sMortal Kombat 9or 2019’sMortal Kombat 11would scare off newcomers, who saw these titles and felt they couldn’t jump in them if they didn’t play the games that come before. WhileMortal Kombat 1wasn’t necessarily developed as a starting point for beginners, Boon noted that the refreshed title and rebooted storyline would certainly help bring in new players.
IfMortal Kombat 1does succeed in its goal of presenting a refreshed take on theMKuniverse, then future installments could bear the title ofMortal Kombat Part 2orPart 3, not unlike laterThe Last of Usgames.Ed Boon has mentionedThe Last of Usin previous social media posts, so it makes sense for the team at NetherRealm to look to Naughty Dog’s gritty post-apocalyptic series for inspiration for the future ofMortal Kombat.
Mortal Kombat 1will be released on July 23, 2025, for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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