Despite Mortal Kombat 11 having the most playable characters in any game in the series so far with 37, there were still several fan favorites that did not make the cut from Mortal Kombat X. Though there are many small cameos within the game's Krypt mode, there are nine fighters that for whatever reason are not playable. Still, given the extensive history of the series and the sheer amount of fighters that have been in Mortal Kombat games, there were bound to be a few big names missing.
With the confirmation that Mortal Kombat 11 will not see any new fighters and that support for the title has ceased, it's worth exploring these missing fighters. Players unfamiliar with the new current timeline of the series may be wondering why their favorite fighter isn't in-game. The culprit for a majority of these fighters is that they died either in Mortal Kombat X's story or in between titles. However, for some fans, the fact that they have died should not necessarily exclude them from fighting - especially when out-of-left-field guest fighters such as The Joker, Kratos, and RoboCop have somehow made their way into the game's universe.
Dead and Unknown Fates for Mortal Kombat X Fighters
The main antagonist of Mortal Kombat X, Shinnok, is a powerful Elder God who seeks to sew destruction across the realms. Raiden disrupts Kronika's plans by decapitating Shinnok, permanently incapacitating him. Shinnok's skills as a sorcerer are only matched by the demon Quan Chi who sought to release Shinnok from imprisonment within the Mortal Kombat X story. During this, Scorpion learns that Quan Chi is responsible for the murder of his clan and family and decapitated him as revenge. Kenshi views this and Shinnok's escape from being imprisoned, but gets knocked out and is not seen again until Mortal Kombat 11.
In Mortal Kombat 11's Krypt, players can find the dead body of Kenshi and his red blindfold which allows spirits to be seen. Also in the Krypt is the four-armed Shokan, Goro. His body can be found in the Goro's Lair section of the Krypt. In the previous game, Ferra/Torr was a fan-favorite fighter despite not having a large story role. An interaction between Kollector and D'Vorah in Mortal Kombat 11 has the latter claim to have found both their bodies. If believed, then either the duo died from unknown causes or D'Vorah herself. One of the oldest fighters, Ermac, does not make an appearance in Mortal Kombat 11. After the defeat of Shinnok, his current status is still unknown.
Cameo Fighters
There are three fighters in Mortal Kombat X who, though aren't playable in MK11, still have small cameos. Takeda Takahashi is last seen holding hands with fellow newcomer Jacqui Briggs in Mortal Kombat X. It's revealed that the pair have gotten married in the time between games, representing a rare happy ending for the series. Another cameo fighter is Kung Jin who makes his appearance in several tower modifiers and opening fight dialogues. Last but not least is the beloved Reptile, who many were hoping for in a Kombat Pack. He is currently alive as seen in the Krypt mode. There are also several references to him, such as Shang Tsung's slide ability and Scorpion's alternate skins.
Every single DLC fighter for Mortal Kombat X also does not make an appearance in MK11. This is unsurprising given that these fighters are always unrelated to the story and more so are just ways for Netherrealm Studios to experiment. Whether any of the aforementioned fighters will come back from the dead somehow or make another appearance as a full-fledged fighter remains to be seen. The studio is reportedly working on Mortal Kombat 12 instead of the assumed Injustice 3, so fans of the series may not have to wait as long as last time to find out.
Mortal Kombat 12 is rumored to be in development.