A recent datamine has potentially revealed the purpose of a new banner that has appeared in Mortal Kombat 11, with the new ad space supposedly intended to promote NetherRealm Studios' next title. While the mined files do not contain any specifics on what the new game could be, numerous online rumors are pointing towards it being none other than Mortal Kombat 11's direct successor, Mortal Kombat 12.The infamously gory and blood-soaked fighter from NetherRealm Studios latest release was Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, which launched in May 2020, just over a year after the base title's initial launch. With well over three years since the announcement of the last entry, many MK fans were hoping for a formal announcement at this year's Game Awards. Such an announcement didn't come, but there are a lot of fans that believe NetherRealm's no-show is a good sign for Mortal Kombat.The new Mortal Kombat 12 leak comes from prominent Mortal Kombat leaker and dataminer "TheThiny" who claims the new banner atop Mortal Kombat 11's home screen is more important than meets the eye. While the banner is currently just advertising for the game's Aftermath DLC, TheThiny states that via the datamine that there are files attached to the banner which contain placeholders for NetherRealm Studios' next game. Unfortunately, the details essentially end there, as the placeholder files are apparently devoid of any specific information about what the game could be.[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/thethiny/status/1604358850940964864[/EMBED_TWITTER]While it seems that many fans are leaning towards the to-be-advertised game as Mortal Kombat 12, others think it may finally be the long-awaited Injustice 3. The DC fighting franchise hasn't seen a new release since Injustice 2 in 2017. The lack of Injustice3 could possibly be due to the recent Warner Bros - Discovery merger, which affects both NetherRealm Studios and DC Comics. However, fans do have a 50-50 shot at getting either game, as NetherRealm founder Ed Boon narrowed the next release to two options: either Injustice 3 or Mortal Kombat 12.Unfortunately for fans who want to know for certain, Ed Boon is a notorious online troll, meaning it could actually be neither of them. Last year, Boon teased work on a Marvel crossover fighting game. Congratulating film director James Gunn on working on both DC and Marvel movies, the Mortal Kombat creator included a thinking emoji and - given his behavior - led plenty of fans to assume that a Marvel fighting game is being worked on.Whatever the game may be, fans now at least have an idea of when they can expect it. Earlier this month, Ed Boon held a Twitter AMA in which one fan asked what the release window for the next NetherRealm game would be. In typical fashion, Boon responded with "I really shouldn't 23-answer that," meaning players may be able to expect at least one game at some point in 2023.Mortal Kombat 11 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.Source: ComicBook
