Well, it’s official. There is going to be another Mortal Kombat game, which is good news for fighting fans like me. Mortal Kombat 1 introduced a soft reboot of the series, and it brought even more wonderfully over-the-top blood and gore front and center. Another Mortal Kombat game on the way definitely isn’t a surprise. It’s one of the most notable fighting games in the genre, and it’s been on a pretty big roll recently. Still, for fans of NetherRealm’s other fighting franchise, this confirmation is bittersweet.
Mortal Kombat 1 reached 8 million copies sold last month, and the Mortal Kombat 2 movie that has now hit theaters is once again expanding the franchise beyond video games. A follow-up to Mortal Kombat 1 felt inevitable, and now that it’s officially happening, it might have to make some NetherRealm fans accept a hard truth: Injustice 3 doesn’t look like it’s anywhere in sight, and it may stay that way for a while. Anything is possible, but another entry in the DC Comics fighting series feels a little less likely now.
Why an Injustice 3 Can’t Simply Be an ‘Injustice 3’
Right now, NetherRealm Studios has yet to confirm Injustice 3, but if that day comes, it hopefully evolves with the rest of DC.
As Mortal Kombat Continues to Get Love, Injustice 3 Feels Like It’s Destined to Remain in Limbo
There have been Injustice 3 rumors for years at this point. Even before Mortal Kombat 1 was revealed, some were expecting that Injustice 3 would be the next project from developer NetherRealm Studios. Injustice 2 was released back in 2017, and the studio has stayed pretty quiet about any potential third chapter for nearly a decade now. All fans really have to go off of is speculation, fan theories, and rumors, and that’s far from any concrete confirmation.
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Years of Leaks Leave Injustice Fans Hopeful
After Mortal Kombat 1‘s release and success, the hope for a new Injustice game was reignited. To add fuel to the fire, Mortal Kombat 1 added superheroes like The Boys‘ Homelander and Invincible‘s Omni-Man to the game via DLC packs. Homelander and Omni-Man may be from different superhero universes than DC characters, but the two looked like teasers of what playing Injustice 3 could feel like.
A few leaks have also convinced plenty of fans that Injustice 3 is on the way. Last year, voice actors Phil LaMarr and George Newbern reportedly talked about what it was like to work on Injustice 3 during fan meet-and-greets at conventions. Just as recently as April this year, a new Injustice 3 leak made its rounds on the internet after a Warner Bros. Games artist mentioned the project on their resume, convincing fans that the game was imminent.
Despite No Word on Injustice 3, All Hope May Not Be Lost
I don’t want to be too pessimistic. The thought of getting another Injustice game is really exciting, but it may simply be a longer wait than fans have been hoping. Ed Boon’s recent interview with Collider where he confirmed the next Mortal Kombat game was pretty focused on NetherRealm’s staple franchise. With a new movie adaptation coming out, that only makes sense. However, this could have been a great opportunity to really generate extra hype about what the studio’s other projects could be, and that simply didn’t happen.
If Boon wanted to tease Injustice 3, one would think that he would have clearly sprinkled some extra information about the game in the interview. Of course, he did say that NetherRealm is “definitely doing more” beyond Mortal Kombat, but there’s no way to know what that is right now. Yes, it could definitely be Injustice 3, and maybe it will even come out before the next Mortal Kombat, but the opposite feels just as likely at the moment. There is also the very real chance that NetherRealm could introduce a new IP instead of continuing Injustice. Only time will tell, but getting answers to who will be part of the Injustice 3 cast feels incredibly far off, as we don’t even know for sure that it will actually happen. Sure, leaks indicate it was in development at some point, but leaks should always be taken with a grain of salt, and plans could have changed.
Even though a new Mortal Kombat game has been confirmed, Ed Boon didn’t reveal what the expected release target is.
This Year Hopefully Proves Me Wrong, But My Gut Tells Me to Keep Expectations in Check
I’m not just a fighting fan. DC Comics has been a huge love of my since I was a kid, and the Injustice games deserve to become a more substantial franchise. The series has brought about some of the best superhero games around, and there is plenty more material for NetherRealm to work with. Even though the year is already almost halfway over, there are some big events on the way. Staying skeptical is really important when it comes to Injustice 3, but I can’t help but hold out a little hope for some surprises down the road.
If Injustice 3 is Happening, a Summer Announcement Would Be Ideal
One of the biggest events on the way is Summer Game Fest. It’s scheduled for June 5, and it would be one of the most obvious times for NetherRealm to announce Injustice 3. The other event that’s the most likely would be The Game Awards at the end of the year, but a summer reveal would be pretty exciting and unexpected. Yet as cool as that would be, there isn’t any reason to believe that such a reveal is going to happen. Even I’m giving into speculation at this point.
James Gunn’s next DCU film, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, is slated to hit theaters on June 26. NetherRealm announcing Injustice 3 ahead of the movie’s debut with a related DLC would be some solid marketing, but this is probably just wishful thinking.
Ultimately, all Injustice fans can do right now is play the waiting game. There are already a few major superhero games planned for the year, and some of them have already launched. Invincible VS just recently came out, and later this year brings another fighting game with Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls as well as Insomniac’s Marvel’s Wolverine. Throwing a brand-new DC game into the mix would be a big thrill for superhero and comic book lovers, but it could also risk flooding the space with way too much at once. Hope for Injustice 3 shouldn’t be gone for good, but expectations should definitely be tempered until NetherRealm actually teases the game in a significant way. Overall, the situation feels like history repeating itself, like when Mortal Kombat 1 was announced when so many had expected NetherRealm to be returning to Injustice first. So while Mortal Kombat fans are feasting, Injustice fans are left looking at an empty plate — at least for the time being.
