The next big NetherRealm project might be a definitive version of the last three Mortal Kombat titles. Rumors regarding the next NetherRealm game have been running wild for a long time, even before the previous three DLC characters for Mortal Kombat 11 were announced. While whispers of a possible Marvel Vs. DC or Injustice 3 game seemed to have quieted down, attention has instead turned towards what's next for the Mortal Kombat series.
A recent leak on 4chan claims that the next Mortal Kombat game will rival Mortal Kombat Armaggedon's roster size. The 4chan user who posted the leak claims to be a recently released NetherRealm employee who also noted several complaints about their time as an employee. While the validity of this leak is undoubtedly questionable, one particular claim from the post caught a lot of attention from MK fans. The post claims that NetherRealm's next big project is a massive 50 kombatant Mortal Kombat game featuring characters from the last three titles.
This rumored Mortal Kombat game would be the next Ultimate Mortal Kombat Trilogy of the series. Every three releases, NetherRealm tends to release a game that acts like a collection, highlighting the last three titles. Ultimate Mortal Kombat Trilogy is the most notable example, though Mortal Kombat Armageddon also served a similar purpose. Now that there have been three main series games since the release of Armageddon (excluding the questionable canonicity of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe), it's reasonable to believe that another definitive trilogy is on its way.
The original 4chan post gained traction when Twitter user Ska'Vorah posted a link to the thread. In a comment on the post, they also pointed out that Mortal Kombat's 30th anniversary is coming up relatively soon. A game that brings together the rosters of the three games that revived Mortal Kombat would be a great way to celebrate a massive franchise such as MK, especially given just how varied the kombatants have been over the years.
According to the 4chan post, the only characters who wouldn't make the roster are the guest characters that made up most of Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat 11's DLC. The post also claimed that Harley Quinn was supposed to be DLC for Mortal Kombat 11 and would instead be on the supposed upcoming MK game's roster. While not including guest characters certainly makes sense when considering licensing rights, it does seem strange for a guest character for MK11 to be reused in a later game.
Given NetherRealm's release schedule for the Mortal Kombat series, a possible Ultimate MK Trilogy-like game would make a lot of sense to be in the works. There have been previous rumors that NetherRealm wouldn't be working on a new Injustice game like many had assumed, instead choosing to jump straight into another Mortal Kombat game. However, there have also been similar rumors that seem to contradict this, such as the rumors surrounding a Marvel fighting game.
A modern Mortal Kombat Trilogy game would certainly be an interesting project, especially given the supposed roster size. Previous Trilogy-styled games like Armageddon suffered a bit from a bloated roster, with iconic elements from Fatalities being cut from the game as a result. Given how detailed and cinematic modern MK Fatalities are, creating unique fatalities for 50 different characters could be a pretty serious undertaking. The supposed leak did say that the game would be an updated version of MK11, so there's a chance that there would be reused Fatalities and movesets.
While this supposed leak remains nothing more than a rumor, it provides a possible answer to NetherRealm's future, something fans have been speculating on for a while. The 4chan post claims that this new trilogy game will be announced on December 9th, which also lines up with this year's Game Awards and some teases from NetherRealm themselves. Regardless of this new rumor, it's clear that there will be a lot of eyes on the Game Awards, with fans hoping to definitively learn what exactly the studio's next game is.