Mortal Kombat 1 marks a new era for the iconic fighting game series, and future titles could be named similarly to The Last of Us’ sequels.
Future Mortal Kombat installments after Mortal Kombat 1 could take their naming conventions from Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us series, at least according to Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon. Fans were taken by surprise when the latest Mortal Kombat game was formally announced earlier this year, as NetherRealm chose to forgo the expected title of Mortal Kombat 12 in favor of resetting the series’ numbering back to Mortal Kombat 1.
There is an in-universe explanation for this reset, as Mortal Kombat 1 will mark a new era for the long-running fighting game franchise. After becoming the new Fire God, Liu Kang chose to create a brand-new timeline at the conclusion of Mortal Kombat 11’s Aftermath DLC — one that seems to have changed the lives of EarthRealm’s citizens for the better.
