With only a few months until Mortal Kombat 1’s launch, players may start checking NetherRealm’s store regularly after hints that Kombat Kast might return online soon. The series reboot is already building a new world born under Liu Kang’s direction, how different some of these fighters’ lives will be in this new era, and what other tricks the studio has in terms of gameplay. History has shown that the weekly update show is the perfect template to do this for Mortal Kombat, and given hints on social media, it seems like it’s just a matter of when it’ll return.
Mortal Kombat 1 is the 12th entry in the long-running fighting game series and the second cosmic narrative reboot after 2011’s Mortal Kombat. The story picks up after the events of Mortal Kombat 11 and the defeat of Kronika, leaving the recently anointed Vulcan Liu Kang to shape the new timeline under his guidance. Famous regulars such as Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Johnny Cage will return, while some will appear as Kameo Fighters, who are chosen to assist players during matches before the game begins.
NetherRealm started hinting at the return of Kombat Kast on Twitter, with some long-time fans of the series asking the official Mortal Kombat account about the possibility of a return to the show. While the studio didn’t provide any details, some posts did receive replies saying the weekly show would return in the near future. Reddit user Jaimegorevan shared an image of one of the responses, sparking excitement among other users on the platform who want to learn more about the game ahead of its September 2023 launch.
Kombat Kast started out as a way to promote the release of Mortal Kombat X, showing off gameplay and revealing new additions to the roster in the months leading up to its April 2015 launch. The show continued for several months afterwards, highlighting matches in the community and debuting DLC fighters such as the Predator and Jason Voorhees. NetherRealm brought the show back ahead of Mortal Kombat 11’s 2019 release, using it again to showcase the game and its characters.
With the Mortal Kombat 1 roster possibly leaking, the return of Kombat Kast seems like a good time for NetherRealm. While there’s no immediate confirmation of the veracity of the leaked list, players could argue that given the game’s title and trailer leaked shortly before it was announced, it gave the studio an incentive to back out before any further leaks.
Mortal Kombat 1 is scheduled for release on September 19, 2023, for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.