Ed Boon Confirms New Mortal Kombat Game Is in Development as Injustice 3 Rumours Swirl

NetherRealm boss Ed Boon has confirmed another Mortal Kombat game is in development, even as Injustice 3 chatter refuses to die down.

Speaking to Collider during the press run for the Mortal Kombat II film, the studio veteran was asked the obvious question. Another MK? An Injustice 3? Or something completely different?

Boon said: "I wish I could tease something. I think if I teased and gave it away, I would get in trouble. But we're definitely pursuing another Mortal Kombat game, and we're definitely doing more, as well, so there are a lot of parts on the stove, not just with games, though, with other forms of media and whatnot. So, we've got a lot of great announcements that are coming."

Coy. But it's the most concrete thing fans have heard about NetherRealm's pipeline in months.

Why the renewed interest from players? They've been starving for news. Back in September 2024, Boon told ComicBook.com the studio had picked its next project all the way back in 2021 and had been chipping away at it ever since. Then earlier this year, Warner Bros. Games quietly pulled the plug on Mortal Kombat 1's DLC roadmap, scrapping additional fighters and story chapters. Fans were not pleased.

Sales likely played a part in that call. MK1 shifted around 8 million copies. Decent numbers in isolation, sure, but a steep drop from Mortal Kombat 11's 15 million tally. The Kameo Fighter system split the community. The story confused newcomers. Pricing of expansion content drew plenty of stick. You add all those threads together and the early end to support starts making sense.

Now there are two NetherRealm games supposedly cooking at once. Or rather, "parts on the stove", to borrow Boon's phrasing.

Injustice 3 rumours keep creeping closer

The Injustice 3 talk got fresh fuel last week. According to MP1st, a Warner Bros. Games artist listed Injustice 3 by name on their public CV, sat right alongside Hogwarts Legacy 2. That's not some forum leak. That's a paper trail.

Pair that with Boon's own past comments about wanting to "get back to Injustice", his old tweet reply to a fan asking what comes next ("I3 or MK12"), and the picture feels reasonably clear.

Injustice 2 launched in 2017. You're now looking at nine years between mainline DC fighters from this team, which is a long stretch given NetherRealm used to alternate between MK and Injustice every two years like clockwork.

What does the next Mortal Kombat even look like?

Boon said announcements are coming, but he's keeping the lid clamped tight. Going off NetherRealm's recent three to four year dev cycles, and the fact Mortal Kombat 1 dropped in September 2023, a new MK landing somewhere in 2027 or 2028 lines up with the maths. Injustice 3 slots in before that, if those leaks hold up.

The bigger question for fight fans? What direction the next Mortal Kombat takes. Does the Kameo system stay or get binned? Does Liu Kang's "New Era" timeline continue, or do they rip up the script again? And, frankly, what on earth do they call it. Mortal Kombat 12? Mortal Kombat 2? Mortal Kombat: New Era? The numbering situation is already a headache after MK1 reused the original 1992 name.

Boon also nodded toward "other forms of media", which fits the wider push around the brand. The Mortal Kombat II film hits cinemas on May 8th, with Boon making a cameo as a bartender named "Ed". A third film has reportedly been greenlit too.

Whatever NetherRealm serves up next, the team has a tough job ahead winning back the goodwill MK1 chipped away at. Here's hoping they listened to the feedback this time round.