Mortal Kombat X launch trailer contains dangerous amounts of System of a Down

Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat X is just over a week away, and that's close enough for NetherRealm Studios to unleash a launch trailer featuring a cornucopia of super-powered brawlers laying blood-soaked smackdowns upon one another, all set to System of a Down's hit single Chop Suey. ("Hit" single. See? I am here, literally, all week.)

There are a few 'story moments,' for lack of a better term, in the video, but for the most part it's all about the fighting and the fatalities, highlighted by a man who's literally ripped in half by somebody's feet. Hey, it's called Mortal Kombat, not Kombat Until Somebody Starts To Cry Because Now They're In Two Parts.

The trailer was directed by System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian, who says in this brief "making of" video that he was excited to be involved in the process because he's such a big fan of the game. "I felt more like I was editing a movie," he adds. "I kind of forgot that it was a videogame during the edit." (He also explains that the song in the trailer was originally called Suicide, but the band's record label wasn't happy with the title. "So we chopped 'Suicide' in half and got 'Chop Suey'!")

Mortal Kombat X is out on April 14. Find out more by way of our hands-on preview from February.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.