As NetherRealm Studios readies itself for major announcements in the soon-coming future, the studio has already started with the reveal of Mortal Kombat: Onslaught, an RPG-style mobile game set to come out in 2023. According to the official reveal statement from Warner Bros. Interactive, Mortal Kombat: Onslaught is a "cinematic story experience" where players "must build a team of fighters from a roster of characters -- and unleash them in real-time group battles." Aside from this initial statement and some key art, there's still not a lot to go off of. However, that doesn't mean there aren't any interesting facts and points of speculation that fans can ruminate on till it is officially released in 2023.
NetherRealm Studios has made other mobile games in the past, such as Mortal Kombat Mobile and Injustice 2 Mobile, and these mobile titles have typically accompanied the release of NRS' mainline console games. Mortal Kombat Mobile was highly successful as it had more than 150 million reported installations. For Mortal Kombat: Onslaught, NRS looks to be taking a different approach from its usual 2-D fighting games, putting emphasis instead on players building a team for group battles, and on NRS' reputation for crafting big-budget cinematic stories.
What's Known About Mortal Kombat: Onslaught
The promotional art of Mortal Kombat: Onslaught reveals eight characters set to be in the game: Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Shao Kahn, Kitana, Quan Chi, Jade, Shinnok, and Raiden. The characters' appearances all look to be that of their most recent iteration. For example, Shinnok looks like his Mortal Kombat X version and Sub-Zero looks like his Mortal Kombat 11 version. All characters also appear to be wielding their traditional weapons, like Scorpion's spear and Jade's staff, at least in this art. The inclusion of Shinnok and Quan Chi, however, does raise the question of when the game takes place, considering that both characters died in MKX. Meanwhile, Scorpion and Sub-Zero look like they just stepped out of MK11.
Wording from the official announcement also hints at a few possible gameplay elements. For starters, the words "team of fighters" and "group battles" suggest that combat won't be 1v1 (at least not in every match), like NRS' recent mobile games, but with perhaps 3v3 or even more. Ed Boon, Chief Creative Officer at NRS and co-creator of Mortal Kombat, is also quoted in the statement saying, "we reimagined Mortal Kombat into a strategic team-based collection RPG." Boon's statement about "collection RPG" also indicates that players will perhaps be gathering multiple characters from throughout the franchise's history to join their team, so many more than the original 8 depicted above are coming. Perhaps this will also be how the game is monetized, incentivizing players to buy characters or equipment for their team, though that's not confirmed at this time.
Possible Leaks and Rumors About Mortal Kombat: Onslaught
Alleged leaked images and videos have surfaced online about Mortal Kombat: Onslaught that do show info and gameplay that hasn't been officially confirmed, all of which should be taken with a grain of salt. Supposed character leaks, for example, have shown many recognizable faces, but no new characters. They also show possibly the ability to collect and equip multiple pieces of gear and weapons. And while NRS has only spoken about Mortal Kombat: Onslaught as a single-player story-based game, possibly leaked promotional images suggest a PVP arena for possible online multiplayer. That should come as no surprise, ultimately.
Fans will have to wait and see whether any of these leaks are true as more information will be revealed later in 2023.
Mortal Kombat: Onslaught is set to be released in 2023 for mobile devices.