Just when you think you’ve run out of ways to punch a man’s face off, vivisect his beating heart, and then stomp on it with his funny bone, Mortal Kombat 11 comes along to prove you wrong. The gloriously gory fighting series is back, grosser than ever, with a roster of MKX newcomers and plenty of old favorites. Story mode returns, there are tons of new customization options for fighters, and more.
We’ve played a preview of Mortal Kombat 11, scoured the internet for details, and cringed uncontrollably at fatality after fatality to bring you everything we know about Mortal Kombat 11.
Mortal Kombat 11 release date
Mortal Kombat is releasing on April 23, 2019, and hallelujah, it’s a global launch, meaning PC players will get it the same time as PS4, Xbox, and even those durned Switch players. You’ll find it on Steam, GameStop, or just straight on the Mortal Kombat website.
Mortal Kombat 11 character list
Thanks to official videos, events, and even a few leaks, we have a good idea of what Mortal Kombat 11’s roster will look like. Here are the Mortal Kombat characters you can expect to see.
The list is as follows:
Sub-Zero: The Lin-Kieu leader returns with all the flashy freezing moves you’d expect. He’s still voiced by the lovely Steve Blum.
D’vorah: The insect-ridden fighter from MKX returns, and we’ll bet she can still use those bugs and giant pincers to bite and slash at enemies.
Geras: A newcomer to the Mortal Kombat franchise, Geras serves MK11 antagonist Kronika, and wields weapons that materialize from sand and stone.
Baraka: Your dentist’s worst nightmare, besides Mileena. Baraka is a Tarkatan warrior with giant spikes extending from his forearms.
Raiden: The God of Thunder and usually a force for good in Earthrealm, Raiden’s turned a particularly dark leaf after the events of MKX and MK11’s debut trailer.
Sonya: A series mainstay, and now voiced by and modeled after the infamous UFC fighter Ronda Rousey.
Skarlet: A blood magic user, and a returning fighter from MK9’s DLC.
Scorpion: The other half of Mortal Kombat’s most iconic duo, and this time we might be getting multiple versions of him, since alternate realities are at play in MK 11’s story.
Kabal: He was an NPC in Mortal Kombat X, but Kabal rejoins the fight proper this time around with his signature hook blades and face mask.
Shao Kahn: Ol’ Kahn was defeated at the end of Mortal Kombat 9, and while he took a breather from X, the big bad is available as a pre-order bonus for this game.
Cassie Cage: The daughter of Johnny Cage and first introduced in Mortal Kombat X. Not yet confirmed as a playable character.
Kronika: Evidently Mortal Kombat 11’s antagonist, and some sort of time/reality-altering sorcerer. She’s doing what evil wizards do, vying for power, this time by altering the timelines of MK9 and MKX. She’s not confirmed as a playable character, but there’s precedent: MKX’s antagonist, Shinnok, jumped into the fight.
Kung Lao: He was killed in the events of Mortal Kombat 9, resurrected by Shinnok in MKX, and we do see a revenant version of him fighting in the MK11 trailer. He’s not confirmed as a playable character, but he’s played a prominent role in trailers and whatnot for MK11 thus far.
Liu Kang: Kung Lao’s buddy and original MK hero Liu similarly met his fate in MK9, but there’s a revenant version of him ruling the Netherealm.
Kano: A cutthroat pirate, leader of the Black Dragons, and one of the original Mortal Kombat cast. Was last seen training his son at the end of MKX.
Jade: Absent from MKX but returning in glorious form, Jade focuses on weapon usage and magical powers like her purple aura of invincibility.
Unconfirmed Mortal Kombat 11 characters
Per those leaks we mentioned, plus a few references in trailers, there’s a few characters we think we’ll see, but can’t say for sure yet.
- Kitana
- Frost
- Kotal Kahn
- Jacqui Briggs
- Erron Black
As first reported by Newsweek, a list of Mortal Kombat 11’s achievements were leaked via SteamDB, a third-party database. Those achievements include trophies for performing various Fatalities, and each achievement contains abbreviated letters that line up a bit too well with certain characters. Here’s our predictions for each abbreviation:
Cas – Cassie Cage
Jad – Jade
Kot – Kotal Kahn
Kun – Kung Lao
Liu – Liu Kang
Err – Erron Black
Fro – Frost
Jac – Jacqui Briggs
There’s three that don’t seem to line up with past Mortal Kombat characters. Ter, Cet, and Kol.
Series co-creator Ed Boon had some, uh, feelings to share about the leaks.
Hey Sonya… what are your thoughts on leaks?pic.twitter.com/DnruPv5knAFebruary 10, 2019
Of course, Boon hasn’t actually confirmed or denied anything, except that Scooby-Doo’s Shaggy will most definitely not be coming to MK11.
Mortal Kombat 11 gameplay and customization
Mortal Kombat 11 isn’t reinventing the wheel. You’ll still be pummeling opponents in 1 vs. 1 matches, but Mortal Kombat 11 builds on the systems from MKX and adds in a few key features that should make each fighter feel more like your own.
Customization plays a bigger role, and not just in which fighting style your character picks. Similar to Injustice 2, your fighters can earn different costumes and “costume pieces.” Each of those pieces has three “augment sockets” you’ll be able to do something in.
Other customizable bits include cinematics, victories, fatalities, brutalities, and end of round taunts. There will also be an Abilities tab that lets you pull move sets from across MK’s lengthy history, we presume. A nice cherry on top is having AI Behavior tab that lets you alter how AI acts in PvE fights.
When it comes to the fine details, a few things stand out out. Special meters are returning, but now instead of one bar, you’ve got two that are split between more powerful attacks or combo escapes. “Flawless block” acts as a more rewarding parry, allowing you a window to counterattack. “Fatal Blows” are the new X-ray attacks, but you apparently have to be close to death’s door yourself to activate them.
Check out the official gameplay trailer for a two-minute long peak at how Mortal Kombat 11 looks in action.
You can also see how newcomer Geras fights. In my humble opinion, I’m seeing some shades of Thanos’ throwdown with the Avengers from Infinity War.
Mortal Kombat 11 synopsis
OK, buckle in. The Mortal Kombat 11 story is going to get complicated/silly, even by Mortal Kombat standards.
Mortal Kombat 11 isn’t a direct sequel, but rather is set right after the events of Mortal Kombat 9 thanks to some timeline fudgery from Kronika, but a lot of what happened in MKX is still relevant because… reasons.
Anyway, MKX villain Shinnok is busy being tortured by a now-kinda-evil Raiden, who was corrupted by dark magic after absorbing the Jinsei, the Earthrealm’s life force. After Raiden beheads Shinnok, but keeps him (mostly) alive, Shinnok is approached by Kronika, who promises him that everything is actually going according to her own plans. Sneaky sneaky.
Check out the prologue trailer below:
Mortal Kombat 11 Premium Edition
Mortal Kombat 11 will come with a $59.99 standard edition, but also a $99.99 “Premium Edition.” That’ll net you some decent bonuses, including:
- A digital download code for the base game
- Six new playable DLC characters
- One week early access to each DLC character
- Seven exclusive character skins
- And seven sets of gear to kit your characters out with.
Unfortunately, it looks like the “Kollector’s Edition” will only be available to PS4 and Xbox One players. At $299.99, that would get you everything in the Premium Edition, plus a Dragon Logo magnet, and a 1:1 scale Scorpion mask.