NetherRealm Studios has released yet another video teasing the next entry in its long-running Mortal Kombat series – and there’s mounting speculation it could be hinting at a reboot.
NetherRealm shared a first teaser at the start of this month, appended to a video celebrating Mortal Kombat’s 30th anniversary. It showed sands steadily trickling through an hourglass before a sudden camera zoom focused in on the very last grain, which then exploded.
It’s now been four years since the launch of Mortal Kombat 11, and news-starved fans immediately began speculating NetherRealm’s mysterious video was in some way teasing an imminent reveal for Mortal Kombat 12 – with one theory suggesting Kronika’s time-and-space-altering hourglass, which featured prominently in the previous game, may have gone awry, somehow resetting the universe.
That would, of course, provide a convenient narrative excuse to reboot and refresh the long-running series, and NetherRealm’s latest trailer makes that possibility even more likely. In a new video shared by the official Mortal Kombat Twitter account, a camera slowly follows the seconds-hand of a clock as it ticks toward 12. At the last moment, though, the hand leaps 12 entirely, springing all the way over to 1 – giving reboot theorists plenty of fresh ammunition.
It remains unclear when the next Mortal Kombat will get its official unveiling, but the “It is almost time” accompanying today’s video – not to mention publisher Warner Bros’ previous confirmation the game is launching this year – suggests fans won’t have long to wait.