Mortal Kombat 1‘s beta will be held in late August for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, as announced by co-creator Ed Boon.
At the moment, it is unclear whether or not PC players will receive their own beta. Explaining in a post to X, Boon disclosed that the beta will only be open to those who have pre-ordered Mortal Kombat 1 on these platforms, and will begin on August 18 and end on August 21.
August 18th
My mother’s birthday.
Tobias’s mother’s birthday.
1995 MK Movie release date.and now… the #MK1 pre-Oder beta !!pic.twitter.com/ow8bxNcOKI
— Ed Boon (@noobde) July 27, 2023
The game is aiming to be released on September 19 for for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.
NetherRealm did not opt to title the next game Mortal Kombat 12 even though it does continue the events of the previous game as it did not reflect what the game’s story will show players. “It is a brand new beginning, you’re going to be seeing these characters reintroduced in their new roles, with new relationships with each other, and that’s the main catalyst for calling it Mortal Kombat 1,” explained Boon in May.
Additionally, the game’s cover art stars Liu Kang as he is the originator of this new universe per the events of the Aftermath expansion of Mortal Kombat 11.
Changes include the introduction of Kenshi, Quan Chi, Ermac and Takeda, who will feature for the first time since Mortal Kombat X. Moreover, Mileena and Kitana are now sisters with the former infected with the lethal “Tarkat” disease.
Guest characters comprise Omni-Man, Peacemaker and Homelander from Invincible, the DC Comics universe and The Boys, respectively. The team selected these three because they fit the bill for the “hyper and violent” theme of the DLC.
In other gaming news, the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 are temporarily offline as Activision investigates an issue that is potentially related to the self-spreading malware in the game.