Mortal Kombat Movie Boost Puts MK11 Neck And Neck With MK1

Despite Being Much Older, MK11 Is Pretty Much Neck And Neck With MK1 Thanks To The New Movie Published May 15, 2026, 1:18 PM EDT Mortal Kombat 2 is a hit, so it's no surprise that fans are returning to the games. Usually, an adaptation taking off like this means that both the most popular and the most recent instalments in the series pop off, giving us some insight into what games still hold up long after launch. If that's the case here, then it turns out that Mortal Kombat 11 is the definitive Mortal Kombat game for many. Over on Steam, it's pulling in numbers that barely trail behind the latest release, Mortal Kombat 1, despite now being seven years old. Mortal Kombat 11 Has Stood The Test Of Time, With An Impressive Player Spike After Mortal Kombat 2 Hit Theatres As per SteamDB, Mortal Kombat 1 has a 24-hour concurrent player peak of 4,371, compared to Mortal Kombat 11's 3,754. This has remained consistent since Mortal Kombat 2 hit theatres and got everyone back into the series, so it looks like these are the go-to games for those looking to get their MK fix. Interestingly, we aren't seeing spikes like this with the other Mortal Kombat games on Steam: Mortal Kombat X, Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition, and Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection. MKX might just be too old for those who are looking to dip their toe back in, and Legacy Kollection only includes the retro games, whereas players are likely looking for something a bit more modern. With that said, players coming back to a series after an adaptation comes out aren't always put off by how old a game is. As we saw with Fallout, many went back to both Fallout 4 and New Vegas - the latter of which turned 15 last year. Your browser does not support the video tag. This isn't to imply that Mortal Kombat 11 is the New Vegas of the series, since the franchises are a bit too different to really compare, but it is telling that so many have gone back to it. Its overall user reviews on Steam are more positive than Mortal Kombat 1's, too, which could have played a role in this. So, why is Mortal Kombat 1 only just maintaining its lead? Well, its relatively short lifecycle wasn't without controversy, as the usual fighting game monetisation efforts were quite grating this time around. It definitely seems that support was cut off earlier than planned, as series lead Ed Boon has admitted there were plans to add Cole Young into the game, which were scrapped when they had to move onto the next project. With that in mind, Mortal Kombat 11 might feel more complete - or at least far enough away that we've gotten over its own controversies. As for what comes next, we can only wait and see. It seems that NetherRealm's next fighter is ready for QA testers to get on board, but given that we just got back-to-back Mortal Kombat releases, we can expect this to be another Injustice entry. However, according to the rumour mill, the next DC fighting game won't actually be called Injustice, so maybe NetherRealm is leaving that setting behind. Mortal Kombat vs. DC 2, anyone? Released April 23, 2019 ESRB M for Mature: Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language Developer(s) NetherRealm Studios Publisher(s) Warner Bros. Games Engine Unreal Engine 3 Multiplayer Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer Cross-Platform Play PS4, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S