2020 was a very big year for players who are still enjoying the latest fighting game from NetherRealm Studios, Mortal Kombat 11. While players in the fighting game community are used to receiving new characters through various DLC packs, Mortal Kombat 11 gave players an unexpected style of expansion in May via Aftermath. Not only did this new DLC add to the already sizable roster with characters like Sheeva, Fujin, and Robocop, but it also gave players the unique opportunity to see what happened after MK11's base story with additional content.
While Aftermath alone would have been more than enough for some players, NetherRealm didn't stop there. In November, the studio released Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate, which included all previous content that had been released for the game as well as three more new characters with Rain, Mileena, and Rambo. With so many new additions in one year, some players have begun to believe that Mortal Kombat 11 has set a new standard when it comes to fighting game post-launch support. However, others have begun to wonder if NetherRealm can continue this pace and outdo itself as 2021 stretches out before it.
After such a successful year in 2020, some players have speculated that NetherRealm may shift its focus to Injustice 3 or a new IP all-together. However, with no official word on what or when this title will be coming, it seems the studio will be going all-in on the popular fighter in 2021, including new characters, skins, and stages.
New Characters
New additions to Mortal Kombat 11's already sizable roster seem to be in the DLC forecast. While this seems like an obvious answer, nailing down exactly which characters will be added has proven to be a bit more of challenge. Character DLC leaks and rumors have been prevalent since Mortal Kombat 11 was released in 2019. While some, like the datamine that occurred utilizing the Nintendo Switch version of the game, have proven to be accurate rather quickly, others have only been partially correct or have yet to be officially confirmed. This would include the seeming leak that occurred in September of 2020 that predicted Harley Quinn, Smoke, Takeda, Michael Myers, Mileena, and Sektor would be coming to the game (of which, only Mileena has been added).
The latest in these rumors appeared near the beginning of December with the alleged leaking of an internal email chain from NetherRealm. If true, players can expect Havik, Sareena, Smoke, and Deathstroke to be added to the Mortal Kombat 11 roster this year. This proves tricky, however, considering that none of these characters besides Smoke have been leaked in prior reporting, so it seems unclear if these are indeed the next fighters or not.
New Skins
New skins are the most likely thing players can expect from Mortal Kombat 11 in 2021. The developers at NetherRealm Studios have created many skin packs for players to pick up since the game launched in 2019, typically accompanying holidays or events. And considering that the new Mortal Kombat movie will be releasing in April of 2021 on HBO Max, it seems likely that the developer could release a new skin pack based off of the designs from the movie if it does well.
New Stages
Finally, gamers can likely expect more stages to come to Mortal Kombat 11 in 2021. According to the leak that referenced Havik, Sareena, Smoke, and Deathstroke coming to the game, a certain classic Mortal Kombat stage will be making a return this year: The Living Forest. Much like the aforementioned characters, it has yet to be confirmed that The Living Forest will, in fact, be revived for the fighter, however, NetherRealm Studios seems determined to make Mortal Kombat 11 a master class in fan service. It seems like only a matter of time before The Living Forest and other classic MK stages such as Shang Tsung's Throne Room are released to give fans the ultimate experience.
Mortal Kombat 11 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.