Mortal Kombat 1 Has Almost Sold 3 Million Units

The Mortal Kombat franchise has seen a reboot in Mortal Kombat 1’s name, but this isn’t the first time that the series has been reset in this manner. Coming off as a sequel to Mortal Kombat 11, which was released in 2019, the fighter title at hand has been received fairly well by fans, and in doing so, has sold appreciable numbers subsequently according to WB’s Q3 2023 earnings call report. 

As per the official conference call’s publication, the game has sold almost 3 million copies in a span of one and a half months or so, given that Mortal Kombat 1 was released on September 14, 2023. For reference, its predecessor Mortal Kombat 11 has sold over 15 million copies as of last year and is currently the fastest-selling entry in the franchise’s lifetime. 

Mortal Kombat 1 has sold nearly 3 million copies since its launch in mid-September. So we’ve got the proven IP and franchises, the world class studios and publishing talent and we intend to continue to invest more capital and more resources into the business.” 

Outside of Mortal Kombat news, WB’s CEO David Zaslav also made another statement, one that has fans and critics fairly riled up. It’s been confirmed that the company plans on shifting its major IPs to a live service format—quite the opposite of what Warner Bros. Games has been known for up until now. That said, this strategy seems to be set in motion with the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. 

Our focus is on transforming our biggest franchises from largely console and PC based with three-four year release schedules to include more always on gameplay through live services, multiplatform and free-to-play extensions with the goal to have more players spending more time on more platforms. Ultimately we want to drive engagement and monetization of longer cycles and at higher levels. We have put specific capabilities. We are currently under scale and see significant opportunity to generate greater post purchase revenue,” said company president. 

Elsewhere, the report enlists names such as Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, and Superman, with an emphasis on managing these “blue chip franchises” for the time to come and capitalizing on their potential. It bears noticing that the gaming industry does not have a single AAA-grade Superman game to offer at the moment, but as the conference call hints, this could soon be changing. 

As for Mortal Kombat 1, the game’s receiving constant support from the side of NetherRealms, and it’s about to get the much-requested crossplay feature as well. The game traces its release back to September 14, 2023, for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. eXputer’s review of the fighter title rated it a solid 4.5/5, praising its compelling narrative and breathtaking visuals.