NetherRealm Studios continues to tease the arrival of Mortal Kombat 12, with a short social media trailer further hinting at a time reboot, time travel, or something else entirely for the series narrative, with the ticking hands of a mysterious clock.
The new teaser, posted by the official Mortal Kombat Twitter account, features the second hand of a clock counting up from 9, to 10 and 11, before skipping 12 entirely, and heading straight to 1. A reflection of a galaxy can be seen in the glass face of the clock, and sand – presumably from an hourglass – is also a motif.
Much like the initial teaser for the upcoming game, which featured a trickling hourglass filled with sand, this video suggests ‘time’ will be a major focus of the overarching MK12 story mode. Given Mortal Kombat 11 featured a time-travelling villain known as Kronika as its primary antagonist, and ended with one of its heroes gaining the ability to rewrite history, this could indicate a direct follow-up – or, at least, a game that explores similar themes.
Alternatively, fans analysing the teaser videos have speculated that Mortal Kombat 12 could be a return to the ‘past’ of Mortal Kombat, as a reimagining of the events of the first game, or even a unique prequel story.
Read: Mortal Kombat 12 teased in new video
On social media, the only clue fans have been given are two phrases:
- Does anyone know what time it is?
- It is almost time.
It’s currently unclear if these teases are related to the content of Mortal Kombat 12, an upcoming full-length trailer, or just a playful reference to the patience of franchise fans. Whatever the case, they’ve certainly sparked some conversation.
So far, there’s very little we actually know about Mortal Kombat 12, leaving plenty of room for speculation. The game was first announced during a Warner Bros. Discovery investor call, as CEO David Savlov mentioned it was on track for a 2023 release, despite the game’s existence being previously unknown.
Since then, NetherRealm Studios has begun releasing a series a teaser videos in the leadup to what we assume is a proper announcement. We can expect to see more of this game shortly – potentially during the Summer Game Fest period in June 2023 – as NetherRealm and WB prepare for a grand reveal.