Everything You Need to Know about MK1

There was kind of a gap in the life of NRS fans — between that moment when the developers announced they don’t work on Mortal Kombat 11 anymore and the release of the first MK1 trailer. It was even a journey from frustration to excitement. And we are totally not at a peak of the second, positive side of this process.

Mortal Kombat 1 is coming! It looks phenomenal. Some lucky players got a chance to actually play this new release. The whole community has got many pretty informative trailers. It is probably time to get everything we know about MK1 in one article and publish it on DashFight.

* UPD — The game is out! DashFight has published quite a few articles about various features. For example, we collaborate with pro players for creating deep MK1 characters guides. You can find them in this dedicated playlist.

Why is it MK1?

This is the very first question many people ask when they hear the title. The confusion is clear — how is it 1 after 11?

But sure, this is the gaming world. The linear sequences don’t always work here. And they certainly don’t have any power over the multidimensional reality of Mortal Kombat, where time travels and inter-universe visits are pretty normal — like using your uppercut as an anti-air punish.

This numeral paradox clearly indicates the series’ reboot. Nope, it’s not like we are getting a remake of that very first game in the Mortal Kombat series. The timeline of events brings us to the beginning of… everything. But is it a repetition or a chance to live through this experience once again, for the players and for the characters?

Ok, we certainly should wait for the game before making assumptions about the type of reboot and discussing this new/old timeline. It is possible to compare MK1 to the previous such reboot, Mortal Kombat from 2011. How weird is the story gonna be this time? Please, blow our minds!

We've created a dedicated article with more info on Why is MK1 a Reboot — please, check it out.

MK1 Release Date

This question can compete with the previous one in popularity. When is Mortal Kombat 1 out?

MK1 will be released on September 19, 2023. The game will be available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.

Pre-Orders, Early Access, MK1 Editions

There are three Editions of Mortal Kombat 1, and all of them are available for pre-order.

• Standard Edition — it’s a base game.
• Premium Edition — you get additional 6 DLC characters, 5 DLC Kameo Fighters, 1 week of early access to the Kombat Pack characters, the skin of Jean-Claude Van Damme for Johnny Cage, and 1250 Dragon Krystals.
• Kollector’s Edition — it contains everything from the Premium one but with 2700 Dragon Krystals + a Liu Kang sculpture, art prints, a steel case, and an exclusive limited edition color for Liu Kang.

If you pre-ordered MK1 (every Edition), you got playable Shang Tsung and access to the Pre-Order Beta (only for PS5 and Xbox).

Premium and Kollector’s Editions come with MK1 Early Access — those who pre-ordered them could start playing Mortal Kombat 1 on September 14. Also getting the game preordered meant having access to MK1 Beta weekend, on August 18-21.

Kollector’s Edition is obviously a physical copy, and it’s available for Xbox and PlayStation.

While the pre-orders are obviously over (the game is out), you could buy Mortal Kombat 1 on this official page. or on your game store (depending on what you play on).

Characters in the MK1 Roster

After a few Kombat Kasts and trailers, we now know the playable roster of Mortal Kombat 1. 

18 characters are available in the base game. Shang Tsung comes as a pre-order bonus, and then the players will be able to purchase him individually.

Kameo Fighters in Mortal Kombat 1

MK1 introduces a new, pretty interesting feature named Kameo Fighters.

In a way, it is similar to the Assist mechanic in tag-team games. You can summon support from a different character — they appear to deliver their attack. This feature has lots of uses in fights. For example, this “assist” may help you open the opponent up or extend your combos.

Kameo Fighters offer an additional layer of fighting creativity. It’s like having an extra move in your toolbox, with the option to change it for different matchups. Mortal Kombat 1 players can choose their primary character and Kameo Fighter separately, so we have impressive strategical freedom here.

The full list of Kameo Fighters in MK1 can be found in the dedicated article on DashFight.

MK1 Gameplay

The core of any fighting game is its matches… yep, the fights. Mortal Kombat traditionally brings exceptional action to the scene, with all those over-the-top Fatalities and Brutalities. But the series offers much deeper combat than just bloody violence. Every MK game has many options for the players to express themselves and achieve sweet victories. And we sure expect Mortal Kombat 1 to continue this tradition — of being fun for beginners and profound for dedicated competitors.

It is better to discuss the gameplay of MK1 after the game is out and we can spend some hours playing it. So far, we’ve seen the trailers and streams. An early version of the game was playable at esports events. Some impressions certainly can be shared.

Two notable gameplay features of this installment are:

• Kameo Fighters — the assist mechanic that strongly affects the flow of fights;
• Air Kombat — the characters have proper airborne attacks, which are more than just jumping hits. Having meterless launchers, we can expect to see a lot of air combos in MK1 matches.

The characters feel very different in Mortal Kombat 1. This nicely corresponds to the idea of resetting the timeline by Liu Kang, so everyone moves a different path in their development as fighters; they don’t have to repeat their forms from the previous games (which exist in the parallel reality or something).

Both the assist feature (Kameo) and the air attacks change the way we play MK1 — in comparison to Mortal Kombat 11, as the previous game of this series. It will be necessary to adjust our habits to these mechanics and figure out this more technical way to combo.

Beyond that, the game feels like Mortal Kombat. Yes, we can come up with deep comparisons with other NRS games, but if MK1 is put near various fighting titles, the difference is very distinguished. And this is good news! The developers stick to the roots but elaborate those basic ideas into something fresh and exciting.

Some players have noticed a rather slow speed of fighting in MK1. This impression is strongly based on not-that-quick dash and the general stream of actions. That obviously can change with the community getting deeper into the mechanics, especially into Kameos.

The developers state clearly that they want to give the players as much freedom as possible with this game, so we all could choose our preferable fighting style and carve our own path to success. This sounds really good, and what we’ve seen from MK1 proves it to be true.

We have share some gameplay impressions in DashFights Review of MK1 — please, check it out.

Mortal Kombat 1 Esports

No fighting game can unleash its full potential without the esports component. Tournaments motivate pro players to invest their time into a title, dig deep for tricky combos and strategic ideas, practice miracles of reactions, etc. And then, the whole community becomes inspired by their example, practicing more and striving for perfection.

Mortal Kombat has a long tradition of esports competition, including official NRS events and many big and small tournaments. As for MK1, we already have some events right after the release:

This list of MK1 esports tournaments will certainly be impressively bigger, so it’s better to stay tuned to DashFight for everything around competitive Mortal Kombat 1, including the events schedule.

MK1 DLC

Even before the game's release, we know what to expect from the first Kombat Pack. It comes with six playable characters and five Kameos. The DLC also includes a skin for Johnny Cage — would you like to play Jean-Claude Van Damme in Mortal Kombat 1? 

For more details, check out our article Mortal Kombat 1 Confirmed DLC Characters.

MK1 Kombat Pack

System Requirements for Mortal Kombat 1

Sure, only Windows players have to bother about MK1 system requirements. The consoles are pre-made pieces of technology, and the game should be adapted to run on them smoothly (yep, including the Switch, and this will be interesting to see).

Anyways, here are the official system requirements for playing MK1 on PC.

It comes without saying at this point that Mortal Kombat 1 will be fully present on our fighting games platform. Stay tuned to DashFight for MK1 character guides, esports news, helpful articles, and everything just interesting and exciting.