Mortal Kombat 11 was officially revealed at The Game Awards 2018. Then there was a gameplay reveal event on January 17th, and it showed off several characters, both new and old, returning to the series for the 11th instalment. Since then, more and more characters have been revealed and fans are frothing at the mouth to get their hands on this new instalment. Mortal Kombat 11 looks to honour the history of the franchise, with an epic storyline involving time travel, but also continue expanding the mythos and branching in exciting new directions. For a series that is considered to be nothing but senseless violence, it sure is popular, and we can't wait to get our hands on the final product come April. That said, April is so very far away, so we have to pour over what information we do have. Not even half the roster has been announced yet, so there's plenty of time and space for wishful thinking., but let's take a look at what - and who - we do know.<doc-sep>NetherRealm Studios revealed new details on Mortal Kombat 11 during a live event in Los Angeles Thursday, offering fans a first look at gameplay, a roster of new and returning characters, and changes coming to the series’ well-worn fighting systems. Here’s a rundown of what NetherRealm and series co-creator Ed Boon announced (and teased) for MK11. The Mortal Kombat 11 roster Mortal Kombat 11 will feature both new and returning characters. Some who have existed since the franchise’s beginning, including Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Raiden, and Sonya Blade, will be there again. Fan favorites like Baraka and Skarlet, who skipped the previous Mortal Kombat game, will be back for MK11. Two new characters, Geras and Kronika, will make their debut. NetherRealm has also confirmed two other returning characters: Kano, who appeared in the first Mortal Kombat, and Kabal, who debuted in Mortal Kombat 3. Other characters, like series veterans Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Johnny Cage, have been strongly hinted to return, but have not yet been confirmed by NetherRealm. Newcomer Geras will fight using “time-control abilities,” according to Boon. He can summon objects made of stone and sand in battle, and can use those powers to teleport himself and trap his enemies. He can also stop and rewind time, holding enemies in place while he punches them with rock-covered fists. You can see Geras fight in his character reveal trailer below. Geras fights in the service of the game’s other new character, Kronika. She was teased in the first Mortal Kombat 11 trailer back in December. According to Boon, Kronika’s been “running the show since the first Mortal Kombat,” but when Raiden alters the timeline by killing Shinnok in Mortal Kombat X, she’s forced to intervene. NetherRealm Studios hasn’t yet confirmed whether Kronika will be a playable character — but she’s the boss of the game, the first female big-bad in the Mortal Kombat series, so it’s likely. The initial roster for Mortal Kombat 11 will feature 25 playable characters, according to the character select screen, as well as Shao Kahn, a pre-order bonus character. Fighters in Mortal Kombat 11 will be highly customizable, building upon what NetherRealm created for Mortal Kombat X and Injustice 2. While previous games featured multiple predetermined fighting variations, MK11 will give players the option of customizing their character in more granular ways. In the case of Scorpion, players can pick which mask, sword, and spear they want to equip, each of which can be augmented by socketed items. Players can choose which special abilities they want to take into battle for further customization. There’s also a “Kosmetic” component, which includes options like character skin, cinematic intros, victory screens, and even fatalities. Players have the option of naming their character customization loadouts. The Kombat NetherRealm is switching up the Mortal Kombat fighting formula by rethinking and adjusting some mechanics that date back to 2011’s Mortal Kombat (aka MK9). The meter that used to be shared for moves like the combo-interrupting Breaker, X-ray moves, and enhanced attacks has been split into two. That meter appears in the bottom right and left corners, with the horizontal portion reserved for offensive moves and the vertical portion used for defensive moves. X-ray moves appear to have transitioned into what NetherRealm is calling Fatal Blows. When a player’s health meter drops below 30 percent, they’ll get access to a Fatal Blow, a nasty-looking combo that they can unleash by pressing two shoulder buttons at once. A Fatal Blow can only be executed once per game (not per round), so players will have to use it strategically. Additionally, if a player uses a Fatal Blow and it doesn’t connect, the move will go on a lengthy cooldown before they can try again. NetherRealm is also adding Crushing Blows, another grisly move type that looks similar to a bone-breaking X-ray attack. Players will unleash Crushing Blows when they meet certain conditions using attacks — doing the same move three times in a row, countering a high attack, or tricking your opponent into blocking in a certain way could unleash a Crushing Blow. In the case of Geras, one of his moves will become a Crushing Blow if it’s performed at the end of a combo string and his opponent blocks it while crouching. Each character will have five to six moves that can become Crushing Blows, which do “eye-popping” amounts of damage. In addition to doing extra damage, they may also cause opponents to pop up into the air or immediately stand back up. Mortal Kombat 11 will also introduce the Flawless Block. If a player blocks an attack with perfect timing, Boon said, they’ll have a window to counterattack. That should open up some interesting high-risk, high-reward situations. The story of Mortal Kombat 11 Mortal Kombat 11’s story campaign is set immediately after the events of 2011’s Mortal Kombat. According to NetherRealm’s official description, “Raiden has upset the balance of history with the death of Shinnok. Tired of Earthrealm’s defiance, Kronika, The Keeper of Time will bring order to the universe through any means necessary.” Boon said that the story will involve characters from one Mortal Kombat timeline meeting (and occasionally beating the organs out of) younger versions of themselves. He also unveiled the game’s opening cinematic, which features Dark Raiden, Shinnok, and Kronika. You can watch that below. More details on Mortal Kombat 11 are expected on Jan. 30, during NetherRealm’s next Kombat Kast livestream. For the time being, if you want to see some fighting game pros duke it out in Mortal Kombat 11, NetherRealm has exhibition matches featuring players SonicFox, Tweedy, Rewind, Grr, Scar, Hayatei, and Honeybee on its YouTube channel. Mortal Kombat 11 release date and platforms Mortal Kombat 11 is coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One on April 23.<doc-sep>A new Mortal Kombat 11 roster leak has popped up online, and it allegedly reveals two new characters from the Steam leak and possible post-launch DLC. The supposed roster leak first appeared on Reddit, but has since been taken down. The post included a photo of the Mortal Kombat 11 character select screen, which included previously unannounced fighters. The Reddit post also showed silhouettes of other fighters with their code names pencilled in. Of course, without confirmation from NetherRealm Studios, this information may prove to be inaccurate. SPOILER ALERT! From this point, we'll be talking possible Mortal Kombat 11 spoilers and the roster leak. If you don't want to know who may join the roster, turn back now. A thread on Resetera captured the screenshot of the leaked Mortal Kombat 11 roster, and from the looks of the character select screen, the recently announced fighters are filled-in - minus Johnny Cage. Previously unannounced fighters shown include: Erron Black Jacqui Briggs Frost Liu Kang Kung Lao Cassie Cage Kotal Kahn The most interesting part of this rumored leak is the addition of two brand new characters. The light blue character next to Jacqui Briggs is named Cetrion, while the dark blue goblin-looking character under Kotal Kahn is named Kollector. If you recall the Steam leak, three code names were not attached to any past character, suggesting new fighters were coming to MK11 . The codes were: Cet, Kol, and Ter. It's plain to see how Cetrion and Kollector fit two of the three names from that list. The leaked character select screen also shows silhouettes of possible fighters. These spaces have the code names for which characters the leaker says they belong to. JAX is Jax Briggs, NOO is Noob Saibot, JOH is Johnny Cage, KIT is Kitana and SHA is likely Shang Tsung. The now-deleted Reddit post also revealed that three of the post-launch DLC will include veteran fighters Mileena, Shang Tsung and Shinnok. Shinnok makes an appearance in Mortal Kombat 11 in the opening cutscene of the story mode, so it's possible that the villain of MKX will make a return. The next Mortal Kombat 11 Kombat Kast is set for Wednesday, March 6, with a spotlight on Kano. Mortal Kombat 11 is set to release April 23 on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch. What do you think of this rumored leak? Who do you want to see make the Mortal Kombat 11 r oster? Let us know in the comments section below.<doc-sep>
NetherRealm Studios surprised Mortal Kombat 11 fans with a brand new trailer showing off some major developments in the story for the upcoming fighting game. It also confirmed three more fighters for the roster. While the story trailer focused heavily on the big bad, Kronika, and her attempts to bring balance to the Mortal Kombat universe after Raiden's actions in Mortal Kombat X, there were some interesting tidbits that many fans may have missed including unannounced/confirmed characters and the different sides of the upcoming battle. If you missed it the first time, check out the new Mortal Kombat 11 story trailer below. FACTIONS NetherRealm's official synopsis of the Mortal Kombat 11 story is " Raiden's defeat of the evil Elder God, Shinnok, has drawn the ire of Kronika and upset her desired balance between good and evil. To restore stability in the realms, Kronika has only one option – rewind time to its beginning and restart history." Characters will have to join forces to defeat Shao Khan's Outworld armies, and the story trailer shows who is on bothsides of this upcoming battle. Kronika appears before Shao Khan and asks him to defend the future she is trying to build. Shao Khan is flanked by D'Vorah, Skarlet, Baraka and a never-before-seen character (who we will get to later). Kano, Erron Black and another Skarlet are behind Kronika and her two loyal subjects, Geras and a hooded figure (who we will also get to later.) We then see Raiden appear before Kotal Khan and ask for his help against Shao Khan. Raiden is joined by Liu Kang and we see Kotal is fighting alongside Jade. Kung Lao and Liu Kang are approached by Scorpion later in the trailer and we can assume that the Special Forces including Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade will be on their side as well. At the end of Mortal Kombat X, Raiden was corrupted and a lot of fan-favorite characters were turned into revenants, so be ready to see different versions of characters pop up on different sides of the battle. NEW CHARACTERS Mortal Kombat 11 has been plagued by leaks in recent weeks and the new story trailer confirms a huge one that appeared on Reddit. Of course, if you don't want to know about the characters confirmed for MK 11's roster turn back now. As mentioned above, there's a blue-skinned character next to Shao Khan that hasn't been seen before. The Reddit leak gave the name Kollector to this character, whose code name (KOL) was found in the Steam leak that happened weeks prior. Another fighter going by Cetrion (CET) was also posted in the Reddit leak and their character model resembles the hooded figure next to Kronika in the new trailer. The March 6 Kombat Kast will feature Kano and Cassie Cage, but the identities of these two characters may be revealed by the NetherRealm Studios team so you'll want to tune in. Mortal Kombat 11 is set to release April 23 on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch. What do you think of the latest story trailer? Are you interested to learn about the new characters? Let us know in the comments section below.