Every Major Video Game Franchise Returning In 2019

13. Mortal Kombat 11

Release Date: April 23rd

One of gaming's longest running franchises, it's insane to think just how many ups and downs Mortal Kombat has had. After flatlining completely in the late 2000s, Warner Bros. stepped in, and MK 11 will be the third game under their wing; the latest to carry forward a renewed sense of purpose and identity that NetherRealm confidently demonstrated across 2011's soft reboot.

Now we've got major shakeups to the game's core foundations, slicing up your special meter into two "offensive" and "defensive" segments, all as NetherRealm introduce a new character, Geras, who can literally affect the time of the match itself.

It shows a remarkable confidence from the devs to change up things at a time where - so many instalments in - many other studios would leave everything well alone.

That's saying nothing of the story, either. Newcomer Kronika has been revealed as a deity watching the events of every past game unfold, all while never getting involved. With Raiden now "Dark" thanks to his brain being fried after the events of the last two games, Kronika converges all timelines past and present, so we have young Scorpion, Sub-Zero and the rest of the crew, right alongside their older counterparts.

A great way to show how far the likes of costumes, characters and the franchise has come in 20 years, I can't wait to see what else NetherRealm has in store.