WB Limiting The Production Of Mortal Kombat Gaming Merchandise

The Mortal Kombat video game franchise has undoubtedly shaped the one-on-one fighting genre. The series resulted from an initial failure, which led to an offshoot of a science-fantasy-themed fighting game. Mortal Kombat was among the first actual gore-based games that changed the gaming industry forever.

The controversies surrounding the killing of characters led to the creation of the critically acclaimed Entertainment Software Rating Board, a video game rating system. The series has a reputation for high levels of graphic violence, mainly due to the addition of fatalities. The amalgamation of gruesome, gory fights and an extensive roster of characters adds to the experience.

After Midway’s’ Bankruptcy, Warner Bros. Entertainment obtained the Mortal Kombat development team and designated it as NetherRealm Studios. The series has metamorphosed the fighting genre by adapting to standards never reached before. Mortal Kombat is set in an alternate reality consisting of various realms.

The franchise has spawned various very successful sequels and inspired other entertainment media to dominate the market. The franchise now extends beyond just video games and is widely beloved. MK franchise inspired movies, card games, animated TV series, merchandise, and collectibles, among many others. 

Unfortunately, the franchise might be moving in the wrong direction. Warner Bros. allegedly no longer licenses Mortal Kombat merchandise and collectibles, as first reported by toptierlist. Diamond Select Toys appeared in a YouTube video interview to discuss the particulars of the situation. If you are unfamiliar, Diamond Select Toys is behind in creating excellent merchandise for many big franchises, including MK.

MK merchandise has played a significant in promoting the franchise and appealing to the fans. Regardless, things might be looking dark for Mortal Kombat merch collectors. The entire interview delivers an in-depth understanding of the approach behind Mortal Kombat Collectibles. However, some of his crucial quotations elaborate on how Warner Bros. is not licensing Mortal Kombat video game merchandise rights.

“We started doing Mortal Kombat because we had a relationship with Warner Bros. And Warner Bros. was, at the time, licensing out Mortal Kombat for the product,” – on 12:36. He further states that they are toiling on good terms on other tasks, specifically the DC. The notion has taken a dark turn for Mortal Kombat, and not a lot can be done about it.

“We’re definitely looking at how we can move forward with (the MK) line. There have been some changes to how it’s’ licensed, but we’re going to try to keep moving forward and make more pieces,” – on 30:55. Diamond Select Toys admits that merchandise is an essential element of a franchise. Given the current circumstances, he is still hoping to find a way to move forward with Mortal Kombat. 

He continues, “Aside from the new “no games’ mandate, where we haven’t really even pitched them on…obviously, they said we can do stuff from the movie, but we haven’t pitched them on certain characters. As far as the game goes.” They can still create movie character merchandise, but certain characters are still unclear, as it is a strictly “no games” mandate.

He furthermore states, “it’s unfortunate that the situation has changed so much because it would be great to continue to do different characters from different iterations of the game, but we’ll have to see how this all works out. The possibility of going back – going to – the game licensor still exists, but we’ll have to see how it goes finishing out the contract with Warner Bros,” – on 39-13.

The lack of licensing can highly affect the production of collectibles and merchandise for Mortal Kombat video games. There is a bleak possibility that Warner Bros is unable to deliver these licenses anymore, which is only possible if “gaming rights” are owned by someone else.

WB also might be looking to concentrate more on the movie side, the MK cinematic universe to nurture it further. However, this does not seem viable for the long term. What are your thoughts about it? Do let us know in the comments below.