Mortal Kombat I – Vintage Series Revival?

By: Kirk Jackson

Guess who’s back?

Mortal Kombat I, the next game in esteemed 30-year-old fighting game franchise, is returning as a new entry into the series, albeit traveling back in time, centuries before the events of the known Mortal Kombat timeline.

Despite that time shift, series staple Johnny Cage will make his way to the roster alongside famed franchise fighters such as Raiden, Mileena, Kitana, and Kung Lao.

So far, NetherRealm has confirmed that the roster will feature characters from the early Mortal Kombat games. While Johnny Cage didn’t appear in the reveal trailer, NetherRealm did confirm that he’ll be in the game and that a downloadable skin of Jean-Claude Van Damme will be available for him.

Roster for Mortal Kombat I:

• Liu Kang
• Scorpion
• Sub-Zero
• Raiden
• Kung Lao
• Kitana
• Mileena
• Shang Tsung
• Johnny Cage

The first Kombat Pack will introduce more characters and who knows what to expect regarding the Kombat Packs?

Regarding the storyline, at the end of the last entry of the series, Mortal Kombat 11 and its Aftermath expansion, reality got a reset courtesy of a newly empowered Liu Kang and the Hourglass mechanism left behind by Kronika.

This timeline, which is referred to as the New Era, is protected by Liu Kang and features familiar faces in redefined roles.

Mortal Kombat series co-creator and NetherRealm Studios CCO Ed Boone, recently spoke about this project and how it’s not the same game that initially flooded pop culture during the 90s.

“Mortal Kombat 1 is the beginning of a universe,” Boone says. “It is not a continuation of the Mortal Kombat 11 story so the characters have completely different roles in this new timeline and we really wanted to emphasize that with our title.”

“This is Mortal Kombat 1, it’s a brand new beginning, you’re going to be seeing these characters reintroduced with new roles, new relationships, and that’s the main catalyst for it.”

Mortal Kombat 1 will launch on September 18, 2023, and early access will begin on September 14 if pre-ordering the special editions of the game.

You can acquire access to the game via PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, although versions will not initially be available for the PS4 and Xbox One.

Mortal Kombat 1 will be available on Nintendo Switch as well, as a fully-fledged version that is being developed by Shiver Entertainment and Saber Interactive, with NetherRealm providing oversight for that project. As it pertains to the PC version, QLOC is developing that project.