NetherRealm Studios could be prioritising a new Mortal Kombat game over its DC superhero series Injustice, due to uncertainty over its future with parent company WB Games.
Thatâs according to journalist Jeff Grubb, who cites sources in a new Giant Bomb video who suggested that the developer is currently working on Mortal Kombat 12.
âIt lines up with the reality and it lines up with what Iâve heard, where Mortal Kombat 12 would make the most sense because thatâs a game they know will make money, it will sell well⦠Mortal Kombat 11 was great, itâs doing well, but if you come out with Mortal Kombat 12 it will also sell and do well,â Grubb said.
âAt the same time, you donât have to use any of these Batman or Superman characters that might be tied up in licensing if you try to get rid of NetherRealm or sell it to whoever.â
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As of last year, WB Gamesâ NetherRealm Studios was hiring for next-gen instalments of both its fighting game franchises.
NetherRealm released its most recent title Mortal Kombat 11 in March 2019, followed by a $40 story expansion last year.
Meanwhile Injustice â its fighting series based on DC superheroes â hasnât seen a release since 2017âs sequel. NetherRealm has typically alternated between Injustice and Mortal Kombat.
NetherRealmâs future with parent company WB Games has looked uncertain for the past year, with overall owner AT&T reportedly considering selling off parts of its games business.
AT&T reportedly put its games division up for sale in 2020, attracting interest from the likes of Electronic Arts, Take-Two, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard.
Ultimately, no deal was made for its games studios, which also include the likes of Rocksteady (Batman Arkham, Suicide Squad), Monolith (Middle-earth games Shadow of Mordor/War) and TT Games (Lego games).
A new development took place earlier this year, when AT&T announced it had agreed a deal to offload WB Games parent WarnerMedia, which will merge with Discovery to form a new standalone company billed as âone of the largest global streaming playersâ.
The transaction, which is anticipated to close in mid-2022, will see AT&T receive $43 billion and its shareholders receive stock representing 71% of the new company.
While WB Games wasnât mentioned in Mayâs announcement, a spokesperson told Axios the deal will see it broken up in some form. âSome of the gaming arm will stay with AT&T and some will go with the new company,â they said.
nakx123 on August 21st, 2021 at 16:59 UTC »
Huh I thought the rumor was that they were working on a Marvel fighting game.
testinglitmus on August 21st, 2021 at 16:50 UTC »
I can't say I blame them or fault their logic in any way. Using (and heavily relying on) someone else's IP is generally a lot riskier than leaning on your in house stuff even at the best of times.
Also the story lines for the new MK games have been simply fantastic, so even if they had to do a soft reboot I wouldn't be at all unhappy.
Here's to hoping this uncertainty also prompts them to develop a new in-house IP as well maybe. I really feel that the current team would do an awesome job of branching out to new territory should they wish to go that route.
Final-Defender on August 21st, 2021 at 16:33 UTC »
The stories of the recent MK games has been surprisingly good.
Not sure where you go after time travel though. The Kronika thing seemed pretty ‘final’ in terms of story.