'Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermarth' pre-order information
Aside from the new fighters, "Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath" players will receive new stages, friendships, and stage fatalities. Photo: NetherRealm Studios

"Mortal Kombat 12" is yet to be formally announced by Netherealm, so there is no set release date at the moment. There is still much uncertainty over the studio's current projects. However, there are speculations that the upcoming title will likely be revealed in 2022 in line with the 30th Anniversary celebrations and that its release will be sometime in 2023, according to TurtleBeach.

Regardless, NeatherRealm typically adheres to a similar pattern for their releases. The studio normally releases a new game every two years. If the COVID-19 Pandemic and the ongoing issues at Warner Brothers hadn't happened, they might already have done so by now.

'Mortal Kombat 12' leak

Senior production manager at NetherRealm Jonathan Andersen may have provided a significant hint that 'Mortal Kombat 12' could be the studio's next project.

Earlier this year, Andersen tweeted an image showing several Mortal Kombat posters. However, eagle-eyed fans noted that there is a file named MK12_Mast on his monitor. When enhanced, part of an email showing on the monitor reads "our fans eagerly scrape the internet for any trace … Take extra care with this material."

Ed Boon is known to occasionally tease fans so some believe that it might be a deliberate leak. Meanwhile, NetherRealm declined to comment on the issue.

'Mortal Kombat 12' plot

It will be helpful if players finished "Mortal Kombat 11" Aftermath to know what to expect in "Mortal Kombat 12." Players will get the "bad" ending if they choose to play as Shang Tsung, and the "good" ending, in which Shang Tsung is vanquished, is obtained by choosing Lord Liu Kang. Although it hasn't been confirmed yet, many expect that the "good ending" will be used as a basis moving forward.

After defeating Shang Tsung, Lord Liu Kang is then able to use Kronika's Hourglass to alter the timeline, which he refers to as his "New Era" and in which he hopes none of his companions are "lost." The Wu Shi Academy, where multiple Shaolin monks are undergoing training as Lord Liu Kang arrives before his ancestor, the Great Kung Lao, is briefly shown before fading to black.

This implies that the timeline has been reset, which means that "Mortal Kombat 12" might usher in a completely new period of Mortal Kombat, possibly hundreds of years before the events of the first Mortal Kombat arcade game.