NetherRealm Studios just released theAftermathDLC expansion forMortal Kombat 11, which added three new fighters, more stages, mechanics like Friendships and Stage Fatalities, as well aspatches for fighters all overMK11’s roster. Though minor updates will undoubtedly continue for the game as its meta evolves, some may be wondering what’s coming next for the studio. It seems Creative Director Ed Boon is thinking about what possibilities will arise from the next-generation PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
During a recent livestream interview for Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest, Boon was talking with The Game Awards' producer aboutEpic Games' Unreal Engine 5 revealand what developers will be able to do with future games. He said that everyone always worries about graphical capabilities, but “I think people are underestimating the almost zero load times.”
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While Boon said that for fighting game developers “part of the fun” is creating interesting load screens between fights, he believes that zero load times will “open doors that weren’t considered possible before.” More than that, Boon said he thinks developers have not even scratched the surface of what will be possible on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, especially asloading times have led to canceled featuresfor various games in the past.
Much of the rest of Keighley and Boon’s conversation centered around theAftermathDLC forMortal Kombat 11, and the fighting game’s success for NetherRealm overall. As part of the stream Keighley was also able todebut guest fighter RoboCop’s Friendshipin which he literally does the Robot dance.
The Unreal Engine 5 demo presented for Summer Game Fest originally drew concern as it appeared that a section in which its character moved through an opening in the wall was meant to hide a loading screen. HoweverEpic Games later denied that this was the reason, and reaffirmed that solid-state drives being included in next-generation consoles will make loading “one-hundred times faster than modern consoles.”
Despite all the advancements that Boon feels will make the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X wildly successful follow-ups to their current-generation consoles, not every developer feels as strongly. For instance, Platinum Games’Hideki Kamiya said he prefers the Nintendo Switchin spite of the other consoles' load times and graphics because the Switch and other options like Stadia are more “innovative.”
Mortal Kombat 11is available now for the PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.
