Mortal Kombat 1

Mortal Kombat 1 is a fighting game from 2023, developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Games. It is the twelfth main game in the Mortal Kombat series and the second reboot, following the 2011 title. The story picks up after Mortal Kombat 11 (2019) and unfolds in a new timeline—the third major one in the series—that Liu Kang created during his ending in the Aftermath expansion. In this timeline, Liu Kang gathers a group of fighters for the latest Mortal Kombat tournament in Outworld, while also dealing with an alliance led by Titan Shang Tsung. The expansion, Khaos Reigns, has Liu Kang and his allies facing Titan Havik.

The game launched on September 19, 2023, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. Most versions earned generally positive reviews, with critics praising the visuals, roster, first story mode, and new mechanics, but criticizing microtransactions and the second story mode. The Switch version, however, was poorly received at launch due to technical problems, poor graphics, and long loading times. Mortal Kombat 1 has sold over 8 million copies.

**Gameplay**

Mortal Kombat 1 includes a story mode, online multiplayer with rollback netcode, offline play, and—for the first time in the series—cross-play and cross-progression. Cross-play and cross-progression were not available on Nintendo Switch at launch; cross-play was added on February 27, 2024, and the King of the Hill online mode will support it later. A new feature, Kameo Fighters, lets players choose a secondary character before each fight to assist during combat, similar to the tag assist fighters in Mortal Kombat 11’s Towers of Time mode. These Kameo characters are separate from the main roster.

Fatal Blows return from Mortal Kombat 11. They can still be triggered when a player’s health drops below 30%, but now both the player and their Kameo Fighter attack together. The most powerful hits in a Fatal Blow are highlighted with effects like those from Mortal Kombat X’s X-Ray moves. The airborne combo system from Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks also returns.

For single-player, the game brings back the plot-driven Story Mode and the traditional Towers mode, and adds Invasions mode—a seasonal online mode that mixes fighting with board game and role-playing elements.