NetherRealm says it's done releasing major updates for Mortal Kombat 1: 'Our team … needs to shift focus to the next project'

Homelander sniffing his milk in Mortal Kombat 1 — (Image credit: Netherrealm)

In the world of fighting games, NetherRealm fighters are an odd duck. Games like Guilty Gear, Street Fighter, and Tekken tend to get souped up with DLC for half a decade or more before the next entry is even announced—but like Mortal Kombat 11 before it, Mortal Kombat 1 is dispensing with further major updates after around two years.

NetherRealm broke the news in a thread on X, saying "while we will continue to support Mortal Kombat 1 through balance adjustments and fixes, there will not be additional DLC characters or story chapters released from this point on." A follow-up reply said the news is "disappointing for fans" but necessary to make the studio's next game "as great as we possibly can."

While it had wacky pop culture crossovers worthy of the best modem MK games, our review touched on a certain sense of flair Mortal Kombat 1 was missing. As reviewer Robin Valentine put it, it felt "fated to be remembered as the least interesting of the modern MK games." Still, fans hoping for more updates to build out its roster will have to wait for the next game, whether that's Injustice 3 or Mortal Kombat, uh, 2.

Justin first became enamored with PC gaming when World of Warcraft and Neverwinter Nights 2 rewired his brain as a wide-eyed kid. As time has passed, he's amassed a hefty backlog of retro shooters, CRPGs, and janky '90s esoterica. Whether he's extolling the virtues of Shenmue or troubleshooting some fiddly old MMO, it's hard to get his mind off games with more ambition than scruples. When he's not at his keyboard, he's probably birdwatching or daydreaming about a glorious comeback for real-time with pause combat. Any day now...

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