Mortal Kombat 11 released in April of 2019, completing the trilogy of games started by NetherRealm Studios in 2011. The eleventh entry in the classic fighting game franchise was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, with some critics saying that it is "by far, the best entry in the series to date."
Since the game's release, Mortal Kombat 11 has seen a wealth of new content come to the game from new skins for existing fighters on the roster, to DLC characters like Sindel, Spawn, The Terminator, Nightwolf, and Robocop. And with the release of the Aftermath expansion, which expanded on Mortal Kombat 11's story, and rumors of 19 new DLC characters on the way, it seems that Mortal Kombat 11 has a long life ahead of it.
However, like all good things, the age of Mortal Kombat 11 will eventually come to an end. Whether it's because the competitive scene will die off, the casual audience will move on to other fighting games, or NetherRealm Studios will shift focus to a new title, it's an inevitability that fans will likely need to brace themselves for. And with a new job listing hinting at new NetherRealm games coming to next-gen consoles, players will likely start speculating what NetherRealm Studios will release to follow up one of their greatest titles yet.
Injustice 3
Perhaps the most likely next title to be released by NetherRealm Studios is the third entry in the Injustice series. Injustice, NetherRealm's fighting game steeped in the world of DC Comics, has been released in-between each entry in the recent Mortal Kombat trilogy. Injustice 2 was the last entry in the series before the release of Mortal Kombat 11, with many praising the game's story content as possibly one of the best fighting game story ever.
It seems that since Mortal Kombat 11 released last April, the internet has been rife with rumors of Injustice 3's eventual release. One such rumor came from artist BossLogic who teased at the possibility of Watchmen characters making an appearance in the next Injustice game. And with DC Comics recently making the announcement that it will be continuing its run of Injustice comics, it probably would make sense if NetherRealm Studios decided to make that its next title.
A Brand New Series
Of course, it is always possible that NetherRealm could decide to test the waters with a brand new series. A few months ago, rumors began to circulate that NetherRealm has begun work on a new project that is not related to Mortal Kombat or Injustice. These rumors came from an interview by Geoff Keighley with NetherRealm's creative director Ed Boon who had said that the studio has, "other stuff in the oven" besides its traditional rotating franchises.
For those that don't know, NetherRealm Studios is owned by Warner Bros. Interactive and thanks to this ownership, NetherRealm has quite a repertoire of intellectual properties that it could possibly make a game based off of. While nothing is known as to what this potential new IP could be, it seems like NetherRealm has plenty of options from Cartoon Network to Harry Potter.
 Mortal Kombat 12
Finally, there is always the possibility that NetherRealm Studios could break tradition and release Mortal Kombat 12 as its next title. While this choice would be unexpected, it seems natural that the studio would want to jump right into the next game into the series, especially when one considers the success Mortal Kombat 11 has had.
As far as the story for what Mortal Kombat 12 would look like, it's difficult to say. Mortal Kombat 11's Aftermath DLC ends with players taking the side of either Shang Tsung or Fire God Liu Kang to become the new God of Time, with extremely different endings depending on which character the player chose. Mortal Kombat 12 has the unique opportunity to "rewrite history" and create completely new versions of classic characters, such as a version of Scorpion that deals in electricity or Raiden being a member of the cyber Lin Kuei. The possibilities are seemingly endless.
Mortal Kombat 11Â is available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.