Mortal Kombat Is Resetting Everything Again
The Mortal Kombat Twitter account posted a clock hinted the in-game continuity might be reset with the tenth game.
Following a photo leak of Mortal Kombat 12 more than a year ago and a poll conducted by Ed Boon on whether a new game should be a remake of the original, the new Mortal Kombat teaser might’ve actually revealed what’s in store for the franchise’s future. Apparently, the next game might reset everything again.
The new teaser was released on the franchise’s official Twitter page, and to an untrained eye or a complete novice to the series, the 17-second long video only shows a broken-down clock. However, as pointed out by Kotaku, the clock has game veterans excited, as the blood-red second’s hand goes over numbers nine, ten, and eleven—symbolizing Mortal Kombat 9, Mortal Kombat X, and Mortal Kombat 11—before skipping number 12 to land at one. This simple symbolism might indicate that the upcoming Mortal Kombat 12 might be resetting the series timeline once again.
For those who aren’t acquainted with this particular gaming universe, Mortal Kombat 9 was a major reset to the franchise’s universe, which was to be expected at one point because NetherRealm makes its living out of resetting its narratives. The reset led to the events of MKX and ultimately to the ending of Mortal Kombat 11, in which Liu Kang was crowned as the Earthrealm’s new Protector (in Raiden’s stead), after which he used Kronika’s Hourglass to reset the timeline and forge a new, better history.
So, the in-narrative groundwork for another reset has been laid out, but the significance of the clock in the teaser might be a bit more ambiguous. While it might also indicate a temporal restart of the franchise, which actually brings us to a new and better history/future the new Protector of Earthrealm is trying to build, it might also signal that the time for a more significant reveal of the upcoming Mortal Kombat game draws near—though skipping to one doesn’t make things any clearer.
But there’s another meaning hidden in the very skip of the second’s hand, which might suggest that a remake or a remaster of Mortal Kombat 1 is in the works. Previous reports had suggested that a remastered collection was in development before it was scrapped, so it’s entirely possible that NetherRealm revisited that idea. Unfortunately, the teaser doesn’t reveal anything more substantial, so everything is basically speculation at this point. We’ll likely learn more about the upcoming game as the second’s hand draws closer to twelve.
It’s important to point out that we actually live in an era of remakes and remasters, so previous suggestions might not be as far-fetched as we believe. All great stories have been told already; new and original gaming releases are often big disappointments—like Redfall—while soft reboots and remasters give established narratives and characters new life. Just look what Crystal Dynamics and Santa Monica did with their 2013’s Tomb Raider and 2018’s God of War reboots. So, who’s to say that NetherRealms won’t do the same to Mortal Kombat?
In the end, you can never have too little of Mortal Kombat, so why not reset the timeline or restart the entire franchise? Details surrounding the upcoming Mortal Kombat 12 are still very scarce, and there’s still no release date in place.
