10 Things That Killed Mortal Kombat 1

Despite launching a mere nineteen months ago, NetherRealm studio has announced that Mortal Kombat 1 will not be getting any additional new content. Which means no more story expansions, no more skins and mostly importantly of all, no more fighters. 

As saddening as it is to see the game's support end prematurely - in spite of this almost being a tradition at this point - Mortal Kombat 1 had been fighting an uphill battle from the very start. With drastic new game mechanics and a full timeline reset being front and centre of the announcement trailers, fans were worried that these bold new additions may have spelled doom for the game. 

And sadly they were right. 

Numerous balance patches, roster additions and gameplay changes have seen the game's reputation improve over time, with many now praising the game for it's addictive gameplay and variety of Kameo combinations, allowing for real player expression within the MK1's finely tuned mechanics. 

Unfortunately it's all too little too late at this stage, as NetherRealm have set their sights on their next major project: A rumoured third entry in the Injustice series. So let's take a look back at why Mortal Kombat 1 crashed and burned. 

Competitive play is the life-blood of fighting games - it's kinda their whole bag. 

And whilst the genre lends itself beautifully to couch co-op, online play is the real backbone of the modern fighting game, pitting players around the world against one another in glorious displays of over-the-top violence. 

Sadly, Mortal Kombat 1 failed at this first hurdle by launching with the most bare bones online experience imaginable. No lobbies, a general lack of game-modes and a ranked mode that can feel like a slog in the early stages. 

Compared to its competition - something we'll be doing an awful lot by the way - Mortal Kombat offered up an anemic online experience that immediately turned players away. 

The hardcore amongst us have kept the game's online space alive and kicking, most notably those on Playstation who have ensured the game is consistently within the Top 20 most played games in the US. Not exactly gangbusters, but it shows that dedicated players are enjoying the game. 

For everyone else though, it's a lack of online features, social interaction opportunities or unique game modes to keep things fresh and exciting. 

At least the rollback net-code is decent, so that's a small victory.