The Halloween holiday has come and gone in reality, but the remnants of spooky season linger in popular videogames as various events wrap up and limited-time content runs its course. One game where this lingering content is leaving a sour taste in fans’ mouths is Mortal Kombat 1. With complaints about new MK1 content and it’s monetization rife, the Mortal Kombat 1 Halloween content was the perfect chance for developer NetherRealm Studios to win over fans with slick seasonal skins and spooky updates. Instead, it’s just making everyone more frustrated, and it’s clear to see why.
Mortal Kombat 1 is one of the best fighting games out there right now, gameplay-wise, and one of several new PS5 games and new Xbox games worth checking out. However, it’s also a game that’s notably lacking content – and pushing aggressive microtransactions on players. It’s not a bad thing that the chance to buy a new fighter is fast approaching, with the Mortal Kombat 1 Omni-Man release date on the way, but a growing faction of fans can’t help but feel like NetherRealm Studios dropped the ball in a major way when it came to Halloween this year – a holiday, you would think, a series like Mortal Kombat would be able to capitalize on easily. When you look at what was on offer in Mortal Kombat 11, even just the skins, this much is clear.
So, that’s what Redditor ‘Yomi_Themadfox‘ is doing in a reflection on this year’s Halloween offering – and it’s grim viewing for those of you already annoyed at NetherRealm Studios.
As you can see below, the skin bundles available for Mortal Kombat 11 are just $6 at full price. They come with three skins, just like the MK1 Masquerade Bundle, and – notably in the case of the Klassic MK Movie Skin Pack – even come with unique dialogue options, depending on the skin you have equipped. For $6 a piece, that’s a great deal, right? Well, whether they were originally a little more or not, it’s leaving fans very upset with what they’re facing now.
“The Good Old Days”…When Skin Packs were 6$ for 3, and not 10$ for 1.
byu/Yomi_Themadfox inMortalKombat
Well, the currently-available Mortal Kombat 1 Masquerade Bundle is over double the price. It’s going to set you back 1,900 Dragon Krystals, meaning you would either need to buy 2,700 Dragon Krystals for $19.99 – or two lots of 1,250 Dragon Krystals at $9.99 each – to buy it.
Not only this, but two of the skins in the Mortal Kombat 1 Masquerade Bundle – the Dia De Muertos skins for Scorpion and Sub-Zero – are near identical. It’s also worth noting that the Sub-Zero Dia De Muertos skin was available as a pre-order bonus prior to this. The Mileena Kannibal Killer skin is fun – we agree – but it’s pushing $10 on it’s own, which is still more than a Skin Pack would cost for Mortal Kombat 11.
Oh, and then there’s the first paid fatality – also around $10 in price. That and the other Halloween cosmetics being a recolours of existing skins.
Looking at all of this in isolation, it’s clear to see why NetherRealm Studios is leaving fans feeling frustrated. However, the fact that the rumored Halloween-themed mini-event in Invasions also appears to be – well… – not appearing is making matters worse. This is leading some to speculate that the content that was going to be made available during Halloween is being rolled into Mortal Kombat 1’s next season. However, the Mortal Kombat 1 Season 2 release date is quite beyond Halloween – so any themed content would ultimately need to be altered.
Sure, MK1 is letting players fight as the best Mortal Kombat 1 characters on a night variant of the Wu Shi Academy stage and a Halloween-themed Cage Mansion, but these background decorations hardly make up for the lack of content and the increasing cost of cosmetics.
Fans are, interestingly, blaming other fans for spending money on cosmetics – which only means more over-priced skins are on the way – and can’t quite believe that a full-priced triple-A game has skins so expensive. The reward structure is also something fans would like to see improved, but these are all things we feel will have to wait for the next Mortal Kombat game – whenever that may be.
Either way, this Halloween was the perfect chance for NetherRealm Studios to put Mortal Kombat 1’s rocky launch behind it and deliver a stellar seasonal event with exciting new content for players to enjoy. Instead, it’s only pushing players further away. When you look at the selection of best PS5 games and best Xbox games right now, it’s becoming increasingly easier to put Mortal Kombat 1 aside for them.
Still, in slightly brighter news, MK1 leaks reinforce rumors that another 80s icon is on the way and new MK1 Terminator DLC could be coming, too. So, while there are new fighters to look forward to – and a lot of them by the sounds of it – NetherRealm Studios seems to have even more work ahead to win back some of its now-disgruntled fans.