We have a 50-50% chance of guessing what the next NetherRealm game might be.
The studio under Warner has worked exclusively on two IPs over the past decade. One of their deeply rooted creations, as Mortal Kombat was mostly their brainchild (one of the game’s creators, Ed Boon, still works at the studio as creative director), and the other IP mostly lifted characters from the comics DC, which resulted in the two Injustices. So the studio works exclusively on fighting games, but that’s okay (e.g. Polyphony Digital, of Gran Turismo fame, mostly just made car games, with the exception of the PS1 exclusive and much overlooked Omega Boost, which was a shooter on rail).
Boon was asked if he could provide any hints as to what the next game from NetherRealm Studios could be. Here is a very short, but even more relevant answer he wrote: “I3 or MK12”. In other words, Injustice 3 or Mortal Kombat 12 will be the studio’s next game, although we’ve previously heard rumors about the former that Injustice is in danger, because we’ve heard it’s being created by the merger of Warner Bros. Discovery, Warner Media and the Discovery conglomerate could sell NetherRealm. It probably won’t happen.
Boon has previously stated that while he will be at The Game Awards 2022 in December, he won’t be representing the studio in the form of an announcement. Previously, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Mortal Kombat, we might have expected an announcement, but in the end that didn’t happen either. It follows that NetherRealm’s next project won’t be announced any time soon, but considering the history of the studio, we could bet on Injustice 3 (the team has jumped between the two IPs over the last decade).
Of course, there are also concerns about this: there have been rumors that NetherRealm should focus on Mortal Kombat 12, because the franchise has shown a much better performance than Injustice, but of course that’s not official either…
Source: PSL extension
