6 March 2009
Josh

Mortal Kombat 9 release date set for Q4 2010, says Midway

Midway has announced that they are giving Mortal Kombat and MK co-creator Ed Boon another chance as they slate Mortal Kombat 9 for a fourth-quarter 2009 release date.

Why would that be? Because it seems Midway may have finally realized what everyone else already knows, Midway is a goner without the MK franchise.

They announced that Ed Boon will be pocketing up to $900,000 for his work on the completion and sales of Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe (which were good at around a million units but under expectations) and will be getting a further $105,000 in bonuses for the Mortal Kombat franchise itself (which comes from the sale of older MK games like Mortal Kombat 2 on PlayStation Network, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 on Xbox Live Arcade, the MK movies and such).

This is interesting because Midway does not have money to spend, but they say that the bonuses and payments given to Boon are “critical to maximize the value of one of the Debtor’s (i.e. Ed Boon) primary assets.”

This is good news for Midway and MK fans in general, now hopefully their next game will be better received than MK vs DC Universe was.

And I’m STILL waiting for Midway to announce the release of Mortal Kombat 1, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat Trilogy and Mortal Kombat 4 on ALL downloading fronts (Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and WiiWare). Come on Midway! GET ON IT! Not only is that instant cash right there but I’d buy all of those without giving a second thought. LEVERAGE YOUR CLASSIC BACK CATALOG ALREADY!

Jeez. I should be managing Midway myself . . .

UPDATE June 2009: MK creator Ed Boon’s Twitter page sees him mention motion capture work is underway for Mortal Kombat 9! To quote his personal stream of thoughts:

Ed Boon (@noobde): Motion capturing special moves & fatalities today….they are kind of sick !!

Ed Boon: Carlos & Rick O. doin some kool fatalities. I hope we aren’t taking these too far.

MK Fan (@McCarron): @noobde If you are not sure if you are taking them too far, that means you can go further.

Ed Boon: @McCarron U r absolutely right. People want an M-rated MK….dammit we will give them an M-rated MK.

Ed Boon: still…they are sick.

Update Attendum: The original article references Midway’s “Key Employee Incentive Plan” from earlier this year. Turns out a court committee edited or outright declined this proposed plan later on, explaining why Ed Boon claimed this intel to be false via Twitter (thanks André Lopes). That or he never heard about it with Midway’s plans getting cancelled. As for the release date, let’s hope that estimate isn’t false, I want a new Mortal Kombat game this year as much as the next fan!

Update August 2009: A Warner Bros. Games Inc. Chicago job listing shows Mortal Kombat 9 will focus on online play! The job description reads:
“WB Games Inc. seeks a Senior Software Engineer, Network to help us implement cutting-edge online features to ensure the Mortal Kombat franchise is an industry leader in online functionality. We are looking to position Mortal Kombat as the “gold standard” for network play, and we are looking for someone who wants to push the boundaries of what is possible with online interaction.

You will work closely with architects and designers on both the Mortal Kombat team and the advanced technology group to help design and implement functionality ranging from the core network transport layer all the way to owning the final implementation of brand-new features that will revolutionize online play.

The job opening can be viewed in it’s entirety here at TimeWarner.com’s job page for those interesting in applying to join the team. We can’t wait to see what the team has up their sleeves as far as these “revolutionary features” go. The dynamic interactivity of playing at the arcade has not yet been duplicated properly in an console fighting game yet.”

Update December 2009: MK fansites are now claiming a December 2010 release date for the still tentatively titled Mortal Kombat 9. *fingers crossed*

4 May 2009 09:15
Monroe

MK vs DC would’ve sold alot more copies if the idiots in charge of Midway had enough sense to release it for Wii & PC as well as 360 & PS3… DUH! What no-brained moron made the decision to exclude it from the two best-selling platforms of this generation?

5 May 2009 16:34
fred

i didnt buy mk vs dcu because is was crap. i hope they pull it off PROPER this generation with mk9! bloody gory fatalities in HD is a dream!!!

12 May 2009 21:02
Mkfan4life

I thing Mk9 should do the vs and arcade modes like the Vs mode in Shalion Monks

17 May 2009 00:47
Oscar Polanski

It’s been too long since a true Mortal Kombat has come out! MK vs DC was an ok fighting game sure, but nothing compared to the true bloody and violent Mortal Komba we all know and love. I just hope to god that MK 9 comes out by the end of this year, Im getting desperate for it! Hopefully we’ll see somthing about it at this years E3…

27 May 2009 04:38
lol_64

i just want a HD remake of mortal kombat armaggedon…nothing else…BUT if they are going to make another one , it should have new characters at least

5 June 2009 17:02
Patrick

Sweet an mk9 hope they bring in Tremor I think fans would like that such as myself.

9 June 2009 13:31
big j

come on guys, give midway a break, i think that they have done a fantastic job on the mk games, but i agree with most people, they should bring back the blood and guts, fatalities and more characters. they should not do another cross over game because it just doesnt make any sense what so ever. stick to what you know best, and thats pure and simply, “MORTAL KOMBAT”. i myself have bought every game in the series, even sub zero mythologies, jax special forces and shaolin monks, even mk vs dc universe just to add to my collection, therefore im going to buy every mk game that comes out in the future also. keep up the good work mr boon and midway

18 June 2009 05:11
TAMIR

DC IS NOT COMPERE TO MORTAL KOMBAT WHAT THE HELL THEY CROOSED OVER WITH DC .IF THE ED BOON WANT TO ADD SOOM CHARACTERS FROM OTHER GAMES THEY SHOLD PUT—–SPAWN-BLADE THE VAMPIRE-GHOSTRIDER-DARKNESS OR EVEN CROSSOVER WITH CAPCOM OR SNK ,NOT NAMCO DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT THEM

18 June 2009 11:22
bigMKfan!!!

mk9 should have some new characters but most should be these who allready exsist. kenshi should have a glowing blade like red pulse blade. moloch should have wider horns and spikey ball, liu kang should have kungfudragon pants and shuld not be zombie. his spikes on wristbands should be bigger and he shuld have amulets on his headband. goro shuld be more massive, thick, heavy, strong and shuld have a massive back-like moloch while kintaro shuld be bigger faster a bit skinnier and fury. they shuld upgrade the cyborgs a bit to make them a bit more different. sektor shuld bi biger stronger and more massive military looking robot a bit more like iron monger and with some pipes and lights, cyrax shuld look more like a ninja with more lifelike mask and glowy eyes and allso slicker and a bit more odern high tech but smoke should look more like the cyborg version with some invisible parts like the ones in the costume of armageddon or like chameleons. reptile shuld be more reptile like and shuld be bigger and have quills and glowy eyes and acid falling out of his mouth. drahmin’s iron club shuld be more like havik’s weapon but steel enchancing his arm he should be bleeding and look a bit mor evil and the mask shuld get horns so he wpuld be more devil-like. there should be tremor and wu lae. fujin shuld be in with his alternate costume. stryker in even more high tech suit like a superhero and he shuld be part cyborg. sheeva should be stronger and a bit more gentle looking. noob saibot should bring back his glowy blue eyes and sub zero should have deception costume. scorpion should wear his mk vs dc costume and his spear shuld bi more monsterus.

18 June 2009 11:27
bigMKfan!!!

oh and baraka would be cool if he was bigger and more beast like!
and i allmost forgot this cool advice mileena shuld not wear mask so she could revil her teeth and use it in battle.
mk rulez and the team is awsome i hope they’ll take some of this ideas. keep up the good work mkteam! mk 4 life
dont forget to put a big amount of blood pls and gore too^^ and kaf ^_^