Latest Mortal Kombat teaser drops heavy hints next series entry is a reboot
UPDATE: Will be titled Mortal Kombat 1, leak suggests.
UPDATE 11/5/23: Mortal Kombat 1 is the name for the series' upcoming reboot, according to reliable console store spy Billbil-kun. The title fits with previous hints the game will be a re-imagining of the franchise so far.
Store listings for the game suggest it will be released for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S - so, no PS4 or Xbox One.
We're expecting an official reveal of the game in the coming days.
ORIGINAL STORY 10/5/23: NetherRealm Studios has released yet another video teasing the next entry in its long-running Mortal Kombat series - and there's mounting speculation it could be hinting at a reboot.
NetherRealm shared a first teaser at the start of this month, appended to a video celebrating Mortal Kombat's 30th anniversary. It showed sands steadily trickling through an hourglass before a sudden camera zoom focused in on the very last grain, which then exploded.
It's now been four years since the launch of Mortal Kombat 11, and news-starved fans immediately began speculating NetherRealm's mysterious video was in some way teasing an imminent reveal for Mortal Kombat 12 - with one theory suggesting Kronika's time-and-space-altering hourglass, which featured prominently in the previous game, may have gone awry, somehow resetting the universe.
That would, of course, provide a convenient narrative excuse to reboot and refresh the long-running series, and NetherRealm's latest trailer makes that possibility even more likely. In a new video shared by the official Mortal Kombat Twitter account, a camera slowly follows the seconds-hand of a clock as it ticks toward 12. At the last moment, though, the hand leaps 12 entirely, springing all the way over to 1 - giving reboot theorists plenty of fresh ammunition.
It remains unclear when the next Mortal Kombat will get its official unveiling, but the "It is almost time" accompanying today's video - not to mention publisher Warner Bros' previous confirmation the game is launching this year - suggests fans won't have long to wait.