After months of waiting for an official reveal, Mortal Kombat 1 has finally been announced in all of its timeline-resetting glory. Following on from the events of Mortal Kombat 11's Aftermath DLC, Mortal Kombat 1 sees a newly appointed Fire/Time God Liu Kang recreate the universe in his own image, taking the timeline back to seemingly right before the events of the very first Mortal Kombat game.
Based on Mortal Kombat 1's announcement trailer, the game seems to be bringing back a good portion of its iconic original roster. Staples like Raiden, Kung Lao, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Kitana, and even Mileena are already confirmed for the roster. But while Mortal Kombat 1 seems to be going back to its roots with this semi-reboot, it's still likely to bring over some elements of the past few entries, potentially putting it in the same unlikely boat as Fortnite.
Mortal Kombat 1 and Fortnite Might Rely Too Heavily on Crossovers
Fortnite is currently relying on crossovers more than ever before. The very first Fortnite crossover was with Avengers: Infinity War back in 2018, and that opened the floodgates for just about every other pop-culture franchise to come to the game. Fortnite soon saw a range of other crossovers, including Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Rick and Morty, John Wick, God of War, Halo, Resident Evil, and so much more. These collaborations have only become more prevalent as the years have gone on, and now more so than ever, it seems as though Fortnite might be leaning on its pop-culture crossovers a little too much.
In the last year, Fortnite has not only brought a slew of new crossover cosmetics to the game, but has hosted a handful of fully-fledged limited-time events, bringing in new questlines, new Battle Passes, and new items and weapons. The Dragon Ball Z crossover event back in August 2022 was the first of this new trend, and the My Hero Academia event was quick to follow.
In the last few months, Fortnite's crossover events have only gotten more prominent and frequent, with an Attack on Titan event continuing throughout the current Star Wars event. With a week still left to go on Fortnite's current Star Wars event, the game's already teasing an upcoming Miles Morales Spiderverse crossover for next Season, with it being directly referenced in the Season's main questline.
Having so many crossovers in Fortnite is a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, having frequent, substantial crossover events keeps Fortnite consistently relevant, with these events often being timed around anticipated upcoming releases. Having plenty of crossovers also presumably brings in a much wider audience for Fortnite, targeting those who otherwise probably wouldn't play the game, but are willing to check it out because their favorite franchise is now in the game. But on the other hand, relying too heavily on crossovers can feel a little cheap, and pushing other franchises to the forefront only continues to strip Fortnite of its own unique identity.
While it might seem like an unlikely comparison, Fortnite and Mortal Kombat 1 might end up being in the same boat. While Mortal Kombat 1 looks to be a refresh for the long-running fighting game franchise, there are some fan-favorite elements that are likely to carry over from previous entries, and one of those is likely to be guest fighters. Introduced in Mortal Kombat 9, guest characters have only become more popular over the last few entries, with Mortal Kombat X having four guest characters, and Mortal Kombat 11 having five. Although these guest fighters have always fit Mortal Kombat's tone and gameplay well, Mortal Kombat 1 needs to make sure that it's not relying too heavily on these pop-culture crossovers, or it could end up losing its own identity along the way.
Mortal Kombat 1 launches September 19 for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.