Just a few hours ago, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment confirmed that NetherRealm Studios is developing additional DLC for Mortal Kombat X, to be released over the first half of 2016!
Speculation of DLC beyond the initial Kombat Pack has been floating around for a while, mostly due to Boon’s candid but cryptic tweets, but the world was really tipped off when, after a live stream debuting Tremor, a member of the team said something to the effect of “that wraps up Kombat Pack 1.” Up until then it’d simply been known as “the Kombat Pack,” but the “1” was the inspiration for numerous videos and theories about who or what would be included.
So just what will the new Kombat Pack include? The official word so far is 4 new characters, skins, and a new environment (I suppose this refers to stage/arena?). Unfortunately, us fans are going to be left with a significant wait. The new DLC isn’t scheduled to appear until 2016, though the statement also indicated that all content would be “available in the first half of 2016. This is a surprisingly long time to wait, especially considering that the game was released back in April of 2015, so perhaps this date will be pushed forward in time.
As for the content itself, it’s anyone’s best guess. All we have to go on so far is this dark image of silhouettes from Boon. The far left is a dead giveaway for Baraka in my opinion, though I haven’t the slightest clue who the others are – there are so many names to draw from. Personally I hope to see the original cast of Mortal Kombat 4 as well as MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero better represented since these are the events most closely alluded to in the new timeline. Fujin, Sareena, and Reiko would be near the top of my wishlist, though it seems that Baraka and Rain are virtual shoe-ins based on current fan reaction.
In a related bit of news, it was also announced that the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Mortal Kombat X have been canceled. At first these were expected to drop in April alongside the 8th generation releases, with the date steadily pushed further and further back. Warner Bros. has stated that they are unable to maintain the high standards necessary to release MKX on these platforms despite their best efforts.
So, who do you see in the shadows? Is 3 more months too long to wait? How far behind is a “Komplete Edition,” and is purchasing this new content worth it? Let us know in the comments below!
Written by The Cubist
If Baraka and Rain are included, alongside other revenants like Kabal, Smoke, and/or Stryker, fan reaction to the dismissal of Sindel will be outrageous. The more I think about it, the more I think that the revenants will probably be disregarded altogether and perhaps we’ll get NEW characters.
If we get Baraka and Rain, we’re just piling on characters from the last game. I guess that’s ok, but for all 4 characters to come directly from MK2011 seems a little too mundane.
Even though its a long shot, I’m still hoping for Kabal and/or Stryker.
Playing it safe, I would say that Baraka, Rain, and Sindel are the top contenders, in that order. This is really just because of their appearances in Story Mode. These 3, along with Tanya, are the only NPCs one is able to fight but not included as a playable character. Regardless of whoever else is added, if any of these 3 are left out, there will be some degree of fan outcry.
However, Baraka really doesn’t play much of role in the story. I like him as a character as much as everyone else, but if MKX is really trying to push the story forward, there’s no reason to include him. Rain occupies an interesting place in the story and is almost guaranteed to be an important contender in the next game, so I fully support his inclusion. My only problem with Rain is his goofy set of special moves. Baraka = more fun to play as, whereas Rain = more sensible choice considering the narrative of MKX.
Then there’s Sindel. We all know she kicked some ass in MK2011, but where’s the justification for adding her in MKX? It’s already confusing that we have some of the current revenants in the game – Kitana, Liu, and Lao – yet the others, seemingly of equal status are left out – Smoke, Nightwolf, Kabal, Stryker. (Jax, Scorpion, and Sub-Zero are of course cured.)
So they throw Sindel in, but the other 4 revenants are still noticeably absent. For this reason I could actually see Sindel being left out; fans will just want the complete roster of revenants. (Which begs further questions like, isn’t Jade a revenant? And whatever happened to Noob? Was he destroyed in the Soulnado back in MK20011?)
SO, we have some very good reasons why some of these characters may or may not be included – not that the MKX team has any reason to consider these justifications . If we did get Baraka, Rain, and Sindel, who’s number 4? Another revenant? A guest character? (Spawn has been a popular source of speculation.) A slim chance of someone brand spankin’ new?
Rewind: none of those silhouettes look like Sindel, but these silhouettes may be another red herring. It wouldn’t be the first.
As I said in the article, personally I would love to see more characters from MK4 and MKM:SZ appear since these occurrences in the “original timeline” most closely align with events in MKX. If I disregarded stuff like Story Mode and fan reaction, I’d draw from these sources – Fujin, Sareena, Reiko, even Kai or Jarek. The fact that Tanya was included leaves me hopeful; she was mostly a discarded character and she got a fantastic treatment in MKX. Realistically, I don’t know that we’ll ever see Reiko, Kai, or Jarek again, or at least not soon. Fujin seems to have some strong fan support, and we also get an updated look at Sareena during Story Mode, but unless the developers have a real soft spot for her, I doubt many fans really know who Sareena is.
Frost also pops up during Story Mode briefly, as does Bo’ Rai Cho (though he seems to meet his end), rare appearances of post-MK4 characters to make it into the reboot. In fact, since the MK2011 reboot, we’ve only seen 4 post-MKT characters become playable – Quan Chi, Shinnok, Tanya, and Kenshi, and only one of them, Kenshi, debuted after MK4.
In short, I don’t know what’s in the cards. I’ve got so much rattling around about who could who up and why…I guess I’ll have to find out like everyone else!
It’d help if I could make out more of those shadows. I guess I’ll keep staring at select screens to see if I can put it all together…
I actually think you have a pretty solid list. Left is definitely Baraka, Rain definitely seems like an obvious choice too. Not sure about Sareena, but Reiko and I feel that the third shadow could be Smoke. Not sure though.