History of Mortal Kombat Timeline

"Techno Syndrome", incorporating the iconic "Mortal Kombat!" yell first shown in the Mortal Kombat commercial for home systems, was released as a single in 1993. Created for Virgin America by Lords of Acid members Praga Khan and Oliver Adams as The Immortals, it became the theme music for the Mortal Kombat film series.

Image source: Mortal Kombat: The Album

From 1994 to 1995, Malibu Comics published a licensed Mortal Kombat series consisting of two six-issue miniseries in addition to one-shot specials and miniseries dedicated to specific characters from the games.

Image source: Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat: The Album, a techno album based on the first game, was created for Virgin America by Lords of Acid members Praga Khan and Oliver Adams under the name The Immortals in 1994.

BradyGames produced the collectible card game Mortal Kombat Kard Game in 1995, extending the franchise into the collectible card game market.

Image source: Mortal Kombat

A novel titled Mortal Kombat, written by Jeff Rovin, was published in 1995. It featured an original plot that preceded the events of the first Mortal Kombat game.

Image source: Jade (Mortal Kombat)

A stage show titled Mortal Kombat: Live Tour was launched at the end of 1995 and expanded into 1996, featuring Mortal Kombat characters in a theatrical display on stage.

Image source: Mortal Kombat: Live Tour

Score Entertainment's 2005 collectible card game Epic Battles also used some of the Mortal Kombat characters, continuing the franchise's presence in trading cards following BradyGames' earlier Kard Game.

The 2011 video game saw the release of Mortal Kombat: Songs Inspired by the Warriors, a new soundtrack album featuring electronic music by various artists inspired by the rebooted fighting game.

A Mortal Kombat X comic series by DC Comics, set before the game's events, ran from January to September 2015 with three miniseries totaling twelve issues that were released weekly in 36 chapter installments.

Image source: Mortal Kombat X

By 1994, Mortal Kombat games had sold more than 6 million units worldwide, cementing the franchise's status as one of the biggest commercial successes in gaming and fueling its expansion into other media.

The series was the subject of a major video game controversy and several court cases, largely related to its extremely violent content, especially the original game. The backlash paved the way for the introduction of the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) game rating system in 1994, as well as scrutiny from the Australian Classification Board.

Image source: Entertainment Software Rating Board

The Mortal Kombat franchise generated more than $4 billion by the late 1990s and $5 billion in total revenue by 2000, demonstrating its enormous cross-media commercial success.

The 2008 edition of Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition awarded the Mortal Kombat series seven world records, including "most successful fighting game series". The 2011 edition held ten records, including "largest promotional campaign for a fighting video game", "highest grossing film based on a beat 'em up video game", and "most successful video game spin-off soundtrack album".

Numerous publications described Mortal Kombat as one of the most important and most violent series in video game history. In 2009, GameTrailers ranked it the ninth top fighting game franchise and seventh bloodiest series of all time, while GamePro voters chose it third favorite behind Street Fighter and Tekken. In 2012, Complex ranked it 37th best franchise overall, noting its "legendary status in video game history", and GameSpy wrote "its place in fighting game history is undeniable".

Due to its violent content, every Mortal Kombat game was banned in Germany for ten years until 2015. Mortal Kombat (2011) was also banned in South Korea and was banned in Australia until February 2013, highlighting ongoing regulatory battles over the franchise's gore.

As of 2021, the Mortal Kombat franchise surpassed competing fighting game franchises in worldwide lifetime series sales, having sold more than 26 million units by 2007, exceeded 30 million by 2012, and reached about 79 million units as of 2022.

By 2025, the Mortal Kombat franchise has surpassed over 100 million copies sold across all of its games, solidifying its place as one of the best-selling and most influential fighting game franchises ever.

An animated prequel to the 1995 film adaptation, titled Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins, was released direct-to-video in the same year as the live-action film, retelling events leading up to the first tournament.

Image source: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

The first live-action Mortal Kombat film, produced by New Line Cinema, was released on August 18, 1995, grossing $23 million on its opening weekend. It proved a hit adaptation of the popular fighting game franchise.

Image source: Mortal Kombat (1995 film)

Mortal Kombat was adapted into two major feature films by New Line Cinema: Mortal Kombat (1995) and its sequel Mortal Kombat Annihilation, released in 1997, which continued the story of Earthrealm's warriors against Outworld's emperor Shao Kahn.

Image source: Mortal Kombat Annihilation

In 2010, director Kevin Tancharoen released an eight-minute short film titled Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, made as a proof of concept for Tancharoen's pitch of a rebooted film franchise to Warner Bros.

Production restarted on a film reboot in 2015 when James Wan joined to produce, and director Simon McQuoid joined the project the following year, setting the stage for the eventual 2021 movie.

Image source: Mortal Kombat (2021 film)

A series of direct-to-video films titled Mortal Kombat Legends began in 2020. The first, Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge, was released in April 2020 as the first R-rated Mortal Kombat film.

Image source: Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge

A reboot, Mortal Kombat (2021), directed by Simon McQuoid, was released on April 23, 2021, to mixed reviews. It grossed over $84 million worldwide from theaters while also releasing simultaneously on the streaming service HBO Max.

The second film in the animated Mortal Kombat Legends series, Battle of the Realms, was released in August 2021, adapting the events surrounding the invasion of Earthrealm by Outworld.

Image source: Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms

The third film in the Mortal Kombat Legends series, Snow Blind, was released on October 11, 2022, centering on an older Kenshi Takahashi in a dystopian future ruled by Kano.

Image source: Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind

A fourth film, Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match, was released on October 17, 2023, focusing on Hollywood actor Johnny Cage and set in the 1980s.

Image source: Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match

A sequel to the 2021 reboot, Mortal Kombat II, with Simon McQuoid returning as director and a screenplay written by Jeremy Slater, was released on May 8, 2026, continuing the cinematic revival of the franchise.

Image source: Mortal Kombat II (film)

An animated series titled Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm was released in 1996, bringing the franchise's characters to Saturday morning television.

Image source: Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm

In 1998, Mortal Kombat: Conquest, a live-action television series based on the franchise, was released, expanding the universe through weekly episodic adventures set before the games' tournaments.

Image source: Mortal Kombat: Conquest

In 2010, Warner Premiere ordered a web series inspired by the Rebirth short, titled Mortal Kombat: Legacy and also directed by Kevin Tancharoen. The first season was released for free on YouTube starting in April 2011, promoted by Machinima.com, and the second season arrived in 2013.

Image source: Mortal Kombat: Legacy

In 2014, Blue Ribbon Content had been developing a live-action series that was to tie in with Mortal Kombat X for a planned 2016 release, titled Mortal Kombat: Generations.