The Mortal Kombat 1 Kombat Pack continues the series’ tradition of drip-feeding new, returning, and crossover characters into the fighting game’s roster after launch. MK1’s first Kombat Pack is bursting with six exciting Kombatants that players can’t wait to get their hands on.
Mortal Kombat X really kicked off the Kombat Pack era by bringing in the Predator, Jason Voorhees, the Xenomorph from Alien, and Leatherface, while adding old series faces like Tanya, Tremor, Bo’ Rai Cho, and Triborg (a mishmash of the cyborg ninjas). Mortal Kombat 11 continued this trend, adding classic characters like Nightwolf and Shang Tsung and bringing in guest characters like Spawn, the Joker, Rambo, Robocop, and the Terminator. That’s a pretty good track record, so which Mortal Kombat 1 characters are coming after launch this time around, and when can you access them?
Mortal Kombat 1 Kombat Pack
The Mortal Kombat 1 Kombat Pack was actually first revealed before MK1 even came out. It’s reveal trailer, which you can watch below, unveiled the six Kombatants that would be included: three of them crossover characters, and three of them existing characters from the Mortal Kombat universe.
The fighters in the Kombat Pack are released periodically, and have mostly been dropped into the game at the same time as the start of a new season of MK1’s Invasion mode.
Mortal Kombat 1 Kombat Pack characters
The six main playable characters in the first MK1 Kombat Pack are:
- Omni-Man: released November 9, 2023
- Quan Chi: released December 14, 2023
- Peacemaker: released February 28, 2024
- Ermac: released April 16, 2024
- Homelander: released June 4, 2024
- Takeda: full release date set for July 30, 2024, early access on July 23, 2024
Alongside these main Kombatants, five Kameo fighters are also included in the Kombat Pack. While you do not primarily control Kameo fighters, you can select one to fight alongside you in your battles.
The five Kameos in the first MK1 Kombat Pack are:
- Tremor: released November 20, 2023
- Khameleon: released January 16, 2024
- Janet Cage: released March 27, 2024
- Mavado: released May 7, 2024
- Ferra: release date set for July 23, 2024
Below you can find more detailed info on the six playable fighters.
Homelander
One of the main antagonists of The Boys, Homelander is the answer to the question “Who would Superman be if he was evil and also had mommy issues?” Homelander has it all: flight, super speed, heat vision, super strength, near invulnerability, the whole nine yards. He’s also got a pathological need to be liked and enough arrogance to start a truck. Add all this together, and you’ve got a character that is well-suited to the savage world of Mortal Kombat.
Omni-Man
Another superhero addition, Omni-Man comes from Robert Kirkman’s Invincible. Another take on the “evil Superman” idea, Omni-Man possesses super strength, super speed, flight, near invulnerability, an enhanced healing factor, incredible longevity, and so on. No heat vision, though. For full authenticity, he is voiced by J.K. Simmons, who plays him in the animated adaptation.
Peacemaker
The Kombat Pack’s third crossover character is Peacemaker, and would you look at that, we’re three for three jacked-up anti-heroes! Peacemaker, a character from The Suicide Squad and his own titular TV show created by James Gunn, will once again be played by John Cena. Peacemaker believes in achieving peace at any cost, but he’s kind of a jerk. He boasts a remarkably diverse kit that sees you use firearms, booster packs, forcefields, and even his pet eagle Eagly to get one over on your opponent.
Ermac
A returning Mortal Kombat character, Ermac is an urban legend who eventually became a proper character. An amalgamation of the many souls who have died during Outworld’s wars, Ermac uses teleportation and telekinesis to overpower his enemies. Though sometimes portrayed as an antagonist, Ermac wants to do what’s best for Outworld. His telekinetic abilities have tended to make him effective at range in combat, and he has powerful command grabs and mix-ups.
Quan Chi
Quan Chi is an extremely powerful sorcerer and necromancer from the NetherRealm who usually serves as one of the secondary antagonists in Mortal Kombat. His ability to pop a portal and travel through the realms with ease makes him a feared enemy, and he puts these portals to good use in his kit. You will often see him get some assistance from a beast from another realm, which sticks its tentacles through a portal to wrap up or attack your opponent.
Takeda
A student of Hanzo Hasashi (aka Scorpion) and the son of Kenshi, Takeda made his debut in Mortal Kombat X but did not return for Mortal Kombat 11 (though an in-game conversation notes that he is engaged to Jacqui Briggs. Aw!). In Mortal Kombat X, Takeda excelled at footsies and long-ranged attacks to keep the opponent on guard during neutral. As the final fighter in the Kombat Pack, we’re still awaiting Takeda’s arrival, so exactly how he’ll play in MK1 is up in the air at the moment.
Mortal Kombat 1 Kombat Pack price
Kombat Pack 1 has a retail price on the Xbox and PlayStation storefronts of $39.99/ £34.99, or it is included in the Premium Edition of Mortal Kombat 1.
However, it’s worth noting that due to Mortal Kombat 1’s age, you can regularly find the Kombat Pack at a discounted price. At the time of writing in June 2024, Xbox and PlayStation players can scoop it up for just $15.99/ £13.99, which is well over half price.
Should I buy the Kombat Pack?
If you already own Mortal Kombat 1 and you’re thinking of buying the first Kombat Pack, then we definitely think it’s worth it. The three epic crossover characters are good enough on their own, but combine that with three excellent additional characters from the MK universe, and all those Kameo fighters, and it’s fairly good value (especially if you get it on sale).
If the characters in the Kombat Pack don’t massively excite you, then you probably shouldn’t worry about getting it right now. MK1’s predecessor, MK11, released two Kombat Packs, so there may be another collection of DLC characters in the future that’s more to your liking.
If there’s one character in particular you want (say, you’re a massive fan of The Boys and really want to play as Homelander), then you can buy each Kombat Pack character separately for $7.99/ £6.99.
There you have it, everything you need to know about the current Kombat Pack in Mortal Kombat 1. MK1 is one of the best fighting games of recent years, and while its base roster is hardly underwhelming, sprinkling some extra characters in post-launch is never a bad thing.