This year marks three decades since the Mortal Kombat series burst onto the scene. Ed Boon, the creative director at NetherRealm Studios, recently shared entertaining insights about development and the origins of fatalities. Fresh posts on social networks highlighted how the franchise’s iconic fighters react to the milestone with playful passion and nostalgia.
A fan-made render by Farid MK imagines Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, Raiden, Liu Kang, and Kano coming together to celebrate the anniversary. In the scene, the fighters share a birthday cake and pose for a keepsake photo, capturing the community’s enduring love for the series.
The original Mortal Kombat released in August 1992 and quickly grew into a sprawling universe that includes sequels, animated series, feature films, action figures, and comics. A modern remake of the classic Mortal Kombat Trilogy has also emerged. Recently, developers revealed a project built on Unreal Engine 5 that recreates the iconic clash between Motaro and Scorpion with contemporary visuals.
In industry news, NetherRealm Studios announced Mortal Kombat: Attack, a mobile RPG that expands the fighting franchise to a new platform. Separately, there was chatter about a canceled project called STALKER Online; a leaked build showed how it might have functioned as an online browser game before the studio ultimately closed the project.