All Mortal Kombat games in order of release date

The Mortal Kombat series has been out for over thirty years now. That’s twice the age of many of the people playing it nowadays, which makes it easy to forget how far the series has come. Some games are indisputable classics that have stood the test of time, while others don’t quite reach that bar. Still, they’re all part of Mortal Kombat‘s legacy, so a little history lesson is in order.

Below, you’ll find the full lineage of this classic fighting game franchise. This will also include any spinoff, notable port, and compilation games.

Mortal Kombat (1992)

The first Mortal Kombat game was the one that started it all. Though not on par with Street Fighter 2, the fighting genre’s gold standard at the time, it more than made up for that via the inclusion of then-unseen amounts of gore.

Ever heard old folks complaining about how games are too violent? This is the game you have to thank for that.

Fun Fact: Did you know that the original Mortal Kombat changed video game box art forever? No, not in the sense that every game copied its beautiful cover art. I mean, its violence led to the creation of the ESRB, which, therefore, made every game feature an age rating on its cover.

Mortal Kombat II (1993)

By today’s standards, Mortal Kombat II would feel more like an upgraded Mortal Kombat than a full sequel. Still, it’d be a damn great upgrade.

They nearly doubled the roster for the sequel. Also, instead of facing off against Shang Tsung, a mighty sorcerer in the canon but just a normal playable character gameplay-wise, we’d have to take down Shao Khan, the absurdly overpowered ruler of the Outworld.

And the additions didn’t stop with the characters. MK2 brought more fatalities and also introduced the “Babality” and “Friendship” finishers. So much for Mortal Kombat not being a family-friendly series.

Mortal Kombat 3 (1995)

Mortal Kombat 3 was once again just a bigger but not necessarily better version of its predecessor. Even though it added the “Animality” finisher, it also seemed to have lost some of the grit of the previous two games.

It’s also considered to be one of the weaker games of the franchise for not having MK staples in its roster. How are you going to have a Mortal Kombat game with Sub-Zero, but not Scorpion? That’s like releasing a Street Fighter game with Ryu, but no Ken.

Still, most of the newcomers in this game have become fan favorites decades later.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1995)

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is, you guessed it, the definitive version of MK3. It’s arguably better, though, as it features much better AI and, therefore, way more challenging enemies for die-hard players. UMK3 is also the introduction of the infamous “Brutality” finisher, akin to the Ultra Combo finisher from Killer Instinct.

Mortal Kombat Trilogy (1996)

Despite the title, Mortal Kombat Trilogy wasn’t a rerelease of the first three (four?) games in the trilogy. Rather, it’s a single game that acts like a “best of” of sorts. It features all the arenas from Mortal Kombat 2 and 3, with a few from the original game.

Mortal Kombat Trilogy also introduced the aggressor mechanic, which aims to benefit the most aggressive player by granting them extra speed and damage for a short period of time.

Think of it as the third iteration of MK3. More characters, revamped mechanics, and just the most definitive edition of the game. We oftentimes meme about Street Fighter and their iterative games, oftentimes using “Super” and “Ultra”, but Midway (back in the day) was pulling similar moves.

Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero (1997)

Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub Zero remains the second of the largest duds in the history of the franchise. Mythologies was an attempt at a sidescrolling action game starring Sub-Zero, but it fell far short of expectations due to a combination of greatly outdated mechanics and new-but-awful ones.

Aside from how janky and laughable most of the game is, there is some merit to it. It fleshes out one of the most iconic characters from the OG roster. Though hilarious in execution, it’s worth a shot, or at least a watched playthrough.

Mortal Kombat 4 (1997)

Mortal Kombat 4 tried to follow Tekken’s lead and make the jump to 3D, but it still had a lot to learn. While not terrible, MK4 felt barely capable of holding its own against the already outdated Tekken 2, let alone Tekken 3, the new gold standard of 3D fighting games.

It’s still interesting to see the pivot into 3D for the next few iterations of the franchise moving forward (until the reboot in 2011).

Mortal Kombat Gold (1999)

Mortal Kombat 4 failed to get anyone hyped, so Midway rebranded it as Mortal Kombat Gold when they ported it to the Dreamcast. Though it had better graphics than the PS1 version, critics still reviewed this one harshly.

Mortal Kombat Gold also suffered from serious bugs upon release, so Midway released a revised version just a month after the original release. It fixed most of the game’s problems, but it still didn’t make it good.

Mortal Kombat: Special Forces (2000)

Mortal Kombat: Special Forces was another attempt at a spinoff, which was also another blunder. This time, we play Jackson “Jax” Briggs as he fights off, shoots, and sometimes even blows up a bunch of generic bad guys. Wacky camera angles, unintuitive controls, and straight-up unfun action prevent this one from deserving to share the name with even MK4.

We’ve always respected attempts at breaking the mold, but this one is better left in the past where it belongs.

Mortal Kombat Advance (2001)

This is a Game Boy Advance remake of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, aka Mortal Kombat 3: 2, and it just isn’t good. The graphics are terrible, and so is the gameplay. Electronic Gaming Monthly described its AI as utterly dumb and somehow unfair at the same time. Don’t get this one.

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002)

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is the first mainline title in the series after MK4 forced it into dormancy back in ’97. It does a much better job of making use of the three-dimensional space and also introduces some neat gameplay elements like weapons and the option to swap between fighting styles on the go. Deadly Alliance brought the mainline series back and proved that it wasn’t going anywhere but up.

Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition (2003)

Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition is a port of Deadly Alliance for the Game Boy Advance. One could expect an absolute failure since the company had previously fallen on its face when attempting to port the much simpler Mortal Kombat 3 to the Game Boy, but this one actually turned out quite well.

Mortal Kombat: Deception (2004)

Mortal Kombat: Deception is the direct sequel to Deadly Alliance and it improves upon the predecessor in most ways. It also features a new campaign aptly called Konquest. It also comes with the Puzzle Kombat and Chess Kombat minigames, giving you more to do.

Deception is oftentimes hailed as the peak era of 3D Mortal Kombat. Some character omissions and the newcomers contributed to most of its complaints, but it showed everyone that the series was capable of moving forward in positive ways.

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (2005)

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is yet another Mortal Kombat spinoff, and guess what… this one isn’t actually bad at all! Shaolin Monks is a co-op prequel that invites players to choose either Kung Lao or Liu Kang as they face off against the hordes of Shang Tsung in a bunch of arena-like levels.

Fans liked Shaolin Monks so much that it nearly spawned a sequel where we played as Sub Zero and Scorpion. Sadly, budget constraints forced the company to cancel the project.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (2006)

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is the final entry in the Playstation 2 era Mortal Kombat. If there’s one thing you can say about Armageddon, it’s that it is big. This thing features 62 playable characters, meaning that Armageddon has one of the biggest rosters in the history of fighting games. Aside from that, it doesn’t really change much of its winning formula aside from the new Konquest mode, which rocks.

While it sacrifices a whole chunk of move sets for most of the characters because of the omission of second stances, the mid-air attacks and combos were really neat. This would eventually make a return in Mortal Kombat 1 (2023).

Just in case you’re curious — no, we don’t understand these wacky modern naming conventions either.

Mortal Kombat: Unchained (2006)

Mortal Kombat: Unchained honors the series’ longstanding tradition of giving new and exciting names to inferior versions of stuff that already existed. Unchained is just Mortal Kombat: Deception for the PSP. It naturally features worse graphics than the PS2 version, but it plays well. Unchained is one of the series’ few solid ports.

Mortal Kombat Kollection (2008)

The Mortal Kombat Kollection isn’t a new game but rather a neat re-release. Kollection is just a collector’s box that contains Deception, Armageddon, and Shaolin Monks.

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (2008)

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is like the DCEU movies— a late response to Marvel’s formula that fails to capture most of what its rival did so well. This game isn’t terrible, but it’s still far from the heights that this ensemble would reach in the Injustice series.

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe played really well, but it wasn’t quite a Mortal Kombat game. It feels like MK was a guest of a DC Universe 3D fighter because of the lack of gruesome, over-the-top Fatalities.

Mortal Kombat (2011)

As the name indicates, Mortal Kombat brings the series back to its roots. The MK 2011 reboots the story and brings the series’ gameplay back to the 2D realm. The result? One of the best fighting games of all time, and the beginning of the unexpected golden era of the series.

All the OGs from the original trilogy are here, looking modern, but still reminiscent from their first iterations in the previous games.

This reboot set the bar for every other fighting game moving forward. From having a full-fledged, cinematic story mode to additional offline modes, MK (2011) showed that this franchise is far from slowing down.

Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection (2011)

The Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection is a single game that includes a mildly updated version of the original trilogy. Please don’t mistake it for a Mortal Kombat Trilogy remaster, as that game is a completely different thing.

Mortal Kombat Mobile (2015)

Mortal Kombat Mobile is the series’ only real dud of the ‘2010s. MK Mobile intended to bring the series to the hardcore fighters among the iOS and Android crowd. It didn’t pan out because, guess what, phones don’t make for compelling fighting game controllers. Still, it’s the other one where you got to play with Freddy Krueger, so at least there’s that.

Mortal Kombat X (2015)

Mortal Kombat X continued the trend of the MK renaissance started by Mortal Kombat (2011). Many call it the best Mortal Kombat ever and the only game in the series capable of going toe to toe with the best competitive fighting games out there.

Its fast-paced nature, high skill ceiling, and roster variation made it feel like there were endless possibilities. MKX probably also has the best newcomers of the 2D revival era of the franchise, with characters like Erron Black, Kotal Kahn, Takeda, and Ferra/Torr.

Mortal Kombat 11 (2019)

Though Mortal Kombat 11 retains the same gameplay system as its two predecessors, it features deliberately more slow-paced combat than MK X. Does this make it worse? Does it make it better? That’s really up for players to decide, as both games absolutely rock.

The only real complaint I have with 11 is that it features always online requirements and a more grind-oriented progression system.

While also being commercially successful, the magic of Mortal Kombat games started to squander here.

As a spectator game, it wasn’t really fun to watch high-level MK11 matches. Playing it wasn’t all too substantive either. Once you have your combos, bread-and-butters, and more advanced fundamentals down, everything boiled down to passive play and footsies.

Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath (2020)

Aftermath is an expansion to Mortal Kombat 11. It features a new campaign that’s very neat up until the moment you realize it’s just Avengers Endgame with MK characters. From that point on, it becomes just neat.

Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate (2020)

Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate is the complete and final bundle, which includes the base game, Aftermath, and additional characters. It was worth the wait if you held off long enough to play.

Mortal Kombat 1 (2023)

Mortal Kombat 1 is a “requel,” which stands for a reboot that’s actually a sequel. Even though its story technically takes place in the past, it’s still a past created by present-day Liu Kang. Does that sound complicated? Well, yeah, but most franchises get their lore to crash and burn long before they reach the 12th game in the series, so this is par for the course.

Either way, the game still does what it does and gives us a pretty story to delve into, with many callbacks to the 3D era of Mortal Kombat. With constant updates to the roster and character balance, there’s more to come from this game in the years ahead.

Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns (2024)

Khaos Reigns is the Aftermath equivalent of MK1: a continued story with a slew of new characters bundled in. Unfortunately, that’s kind of it. It’s more MK that just wasn’t all too exciting. Think of it this way, it’s all spectacle, but with little substance. It’s a pretty package with a weak delivery.

Mortal Kombat 1 was cool during its vanilla launch, but a lot of its new mechanics and shallow offering of modes didn’t really incentivize people of all skill ranges to keep coming back.

Khaos Reigns sought to fix that, but didn’t address some of the core gripes people had once the honeymoon phase was over for the base game. It also came with a hefty price tag and couldn’t be a separate purchase from the characters that came with it.

And now, with rumors of the game possibly being canceled and forcing NRS to move on to their next project, the future of the franchise looks grim right at the moment.

All Mortal Kombat games in chronological order

To play all the Mortal Kombat games in order, you don’t have to play all the re-releases that were more prevalent before the 3D era. So, with that said, here’s the list of all the games in chronological order:

• Mortal Kombat: Special Forces
• Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero
• Mortal Kombat
• Mortal Kombat 2
• Mortal Kombat 3 (Ultimate, Trilogy)
• Mortal Kombat 4 (Gold)
• Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (Tournament Edition)
• Mortal Kombat: Deception (Unchained)
• Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
• Mortal Kombat (2011)
• Mortal Kombat X (XL)
• Mortal Kombat 11 (Aftermath, Ultimate)
• Mortal Kombat 1 (Khaos Reigns)

It would be a chore to play through Special Forces or Mythologies, but if you want the full experience, you can always just watch someone else’s playthrough. These games felt bad and aged so poorly that the novelty of how bad they are wears off quickly.

As for the absence of Shaolin Monks in this list, it isn’t canon. However, it is one of the few spinoff games that are actually worth trying because it’s actually good. It’s a basic retelling of the first two MK games but from the perspective of Liu Kang and Kung Lao. Maybe one day, it’ll get an HD port.

Lastly, from 11 onward, most things in parenthesis are expansions that further progress the Mortal Kombat story and lore. While more about spectacle rather than substance, it’s best to go into these for an entertainment aspect and not so much something much deeper.

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