TheMortal Kombatfranchise has had a fairly long history of paid DLC, dating all the way back to 2011’sMortal Kombatreboot, which added a handful of new characters in the months following its release. In the fighting game community, paid DLC fighters are simply an expected element of the genre, with many fans being more than happy to spend a few extra bucks on a new character with a whole new moveset and unique fighting style, and in the case ofMortal Kombat, a handful of new Fatalities and Brutalities. But over the last few years,Mortal Kombat’s post-launch content has started to become increasingly controversial, not for its DLC content, but for what accompanies it.
Microtransactions have been an unfortunate staple of the video game industry for well over a decade now, and in the vast majority of cases, they’ve only served to upset fans. Unfortunately,Mortal Kombat’s microtransactionsare a perfect example of that, finding themselves to be at the heart of some of 2023’s larger gaming controversies, and putting the franchise in a tenuous spot.
The Future of Mortal Kombat Is On a Knife’s Edge
Mortal Kombat’s Worrying History of Microtransactions
All the way back in April 2015, theMortal Kombatfranchise found itself embroiled in microtransaction-related controversy for the first, but unfortunately not the last time. The first game in the series to feature them,Mortal Kombat Xallowed players to purchase a range of different in-game tokens and items for real-world cash, the most controversial of which was theEasy Fatality tokens, which allowed players to perform Fatalities with just the tap of two buttons.
Microtransactions then returned in full force inMortal Kombat 11, where they now took the form of in-game currency titled Time Krystals. Here, Time Krystals could be used to unlock various tokens again, but their main use was to unlock additional character skins. While most of these skins could be earned by completingMK11’s Towers, some could only be bought using real-world cash. The latest and by far biggestMortal Kombatmicrotransaction controversycame last October, whenMortal Kombat 1charged around $10 for a Halloween-themed Fatality.
Mortal Kombat’s approach to microtransactions only appears to be getting worse with each new entry, and fans are only going to continue to get upset if this practice continues. The way things currently stand,theMortal Kombatserieshas three potential paths ahead of it when it comes to its approach to microtransactions. The first path would seeMortal Kombatremove microtransactions altogether from its next entry.
While this would make the content more accessible for fans, it would mean that NetherRealm would presumably make less money on the game, which simply might not be feasible given the current gaming climate where AAA games are costing more money than ever to create. Additionally, beingowned by Warner Bros., NetherRealm might not even be able to choose this path if it wanted to, with Warner recently making it very clear that it plans on leveraging its properties for as much money as possible.
The second path would seethe nextMortal Kombatgamelean all the way into its microtransactions and its ever-growing live-service model, but make the game either much cheaper to buy, or completely free-to-play. Fans are already paying for DLC characters that are gradually released over the course of a year, and those purchases would feel a lot better if the initial price of the game was much lower.
The final path open toMortal Kombatis for it to keep things exactly as they are now, and that might be the worst option of the three. It’s abundantly clear that NetherRealm is doing quite a bit of damage totheMortal Kombatbrandby having such expensive microtransactions in a full-price game, and it’s only going to cause more issues if the next game follows suit.
Mortal Kombat 1
WHERE TO PLAY
Welcome to a new era of Kombat. NetherRealm Studios ushers in a new era of the iconic fighting franchise with a total reset that changes the entire world as we know it. Following the thrilling climax of Mortal Kombat 11, the all-powerful Fire God Liu Kang has created a New Era in the hope of bringing peace to Earthrealm and beyond. Through the series' most cinematic story mode yet, you’ll be reintroduced to a cast of legendary warriors as you’ve never seen them before. Expect twists on classic friendships and rivalries, as well as new backstories that will change everything you think you know about your favorite Kombatants. Discover a host of new offline and online game modes as you master a revitalized fighting system that boasts bone-crunching Fatal Blows, defensive Breakers and the most creatively vicious Fatalities yet.
