Mortal Kombat 1

Mortal Kombat 1 is a full reboot of the series by NetherRealm Studios, published by Warner Bros. Games. The PC release is September 19, 2023 (Steam and Epic Games Store). It is not a sequel to MK11 (2019) but a new timeline: the Fire God Liu Kang creates the New Era universe, where all the familiar characters are reimagined. Scorpion and Sub-Zero are no longer deadly enemies but rivals; Kenshi is a young blind samurai without a tragic revenge story; Raiden is a simple peasant without the title of thunder god.

The main new mechanic is Kameo Fighters: in every match a second character stands next to the main fighter in the role of a helper, called with a single button. Kameo characters are classic versions of heroes from the series' 30-year history: the original Sonya Blade, Jax with cannon arms, Kano with a laser eye. The system replaces the variation selection of styles from MK11 and MKX: instead of a set of moves, you now get a tactical partner for each match. At the start 15 base Kameo Fighters are available, and 5 more are unlocked by leveling up your profile.

Standard Edition roster: 23 base fighters. Kombat Pack 1 adds 6 DLC characters: Omni-Man, Peacemaker, Homelander, Quan Chi, Ermac, Takeda. The Khaos Reigns expansion (September 2024) includes a continuation of the story campaign and Kombat Pack 2 (Cyrax, Sektor, Noob Saibot, Ghostface, T-1000, Conan the Barbarian). Definitive Edition (May 2025) is the final bundle: everything above plus animalities and movie-style character skins; it is recommended for new buyers as a complete product with no need to buy DLC separately.

Single-player modes: Story Mode (story campaign, about 5-6 hours) and Invasions, a turn-based map with seasonal zones and rewards for victories. Online play includes Ranked, Casual, King of the Hill and the seasonal Kumite. Crossplay between PS5, Xbox Series, Steam and Epic Games Store was added on February 29, 2024 (season 4), but it does not work on Nintendo Switch.

Localization level 2: the interface and subtitles are in Russian, the voice-over is the original English. WB Games has historically not dubbed the NetherRealm series into Russian (the same was true for MK9, MKX, MK11, Injustice 2). The studio Cool-Games (Saint Petersburg) released a fan dub of the story campaign in March 2025, cutscenes only, downloaded separately.

Critics rated the PC version 82 on Metacritic (PS5 - 86, Xbox Series - 88). On Steam the rating is "Mostly Positive" - 72% from about 46,000 reviews in all languages; over the last 30 days the figure rose to about 80%.

Mortal Kombat 1 is a 2023 fighting game reboot from NetherRealm Studios: the Fire God Liu Kang creates a new timeline with reimagined versions of Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Kenshi and others. The key mechanic is Kameo Fighters (an assist fighter from the classic roster). The game has 23 base fighters and 12 DLC characters in the Definitive Edition (May 2025). Russian subtitles and interface are available, voice-over is not. Note: online mode is blocked for accounts in some regions; only single-player mode is available there.