15 Years Ago Today, NetherRealm Studios Revived One Gaming's Most Legendary Franchises

In 2026, it's difficult to meet anyone in the world who has not at least heard of the Mortal Kombat franchise, even making a brief appearance at the 2026 Winter Olympics. However, before a modern series reboot, there was a time Mortal Kombat was on life support. Luckily, NetherRealm Studios turned it all around with one major release.

Today, April 19, 2026, marks the 15th anniversary of the original release of Mortal Kombat (2011), which is commonly called Mortal Kombat 9, as it is both a reboot and sequel to Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. MK9 was a back-to-basics title, featuring the return of 2D gameplay, gruesome fatality finishers (after they were absent in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe), and an abundance of content, which was rare for fighting games at the time.

MK9 begins at the end of Armageddon, with lightning god Raiden losing to series villain Shao Kahn at the Pyramid of Argus. Before dying, Raiden sends a cryptic message back to his younger self--the one present at the Mortal Kombat tournament from the very first game--in an effort to change the outcome of Armageddon.

Featuring one of the very first high-cinematic, expansive fighting game story modes, MK9 would become the gold standard for fighting game content, a genre that historically was focused almost solely on the fighting game experience players could have in the arcades back in the 80s and 90s. With a 6-8 hour story mode, a 300-level challenge tower, 1v1 fights, tag team fights, The Krypt, online lobbies, and more, MK9 delivered on content.

According to Metacritic, Mortal Kombat 9 sits at an impressive 86 metascore, and is widely regarded as the fighting game that not only revived the Mortal Kombat series but also pushed the fighting game genre forward in terms of content expectations.

Since MK9, Netherrealm Studios has switched between developing new MK titles and the Injustice games, which feature somewhat similar gameplay but with DC Comics superheroes instead. Most recently, Mortal Kombat 1 was released in September 2023, and while it saw similar critical praise, the fan reception to the title was a bit more polarizing, with some fans disliking the Kameo assist system, the emphasis on microtransactions, and story decisions made for Liu Kang's New Era. Nevertheless, MK1 has sold more than eight million copies, making it one of the best-selling fighting games of all time.

In May, the Mortal Kombat 2film will be released. For games, it is currently unknown if Netherrealm Studios is developing another Mortal Kombat game, an Injustice game, or something completely different.

The studio put up a job posting looking for temporary quality assurance recently, so it may be just a matter of months before we get a look at NetherRealm Studios' future.