Until NetherRealm Studios announces what title it is currently working on, fans will continue to speculate about what franchise or intellectual property it could be. Whatever it is, rumors have narrowed it down after MultiVersus' official announcement.
Installments in the Mortal Kombat or Injustice franchises are an easy estimate, but there have also been rumors about a proposed NetherRealm Marvel game that would be equally as exciting for fans. Unfortunately, it seems as though any official news may be staved off for a while as NetherRealm addresses its lack of announcements lately.
NetherRealm Creative Director Ed Boon has expressed thanks to fans who are excited to hear what NetherRealm is working on, but that there are "more variables involved than we are allowed to disclose." Boon does not clarify what these "variables" are specifically, but there are a few implications that this statement could point toward. For example, "variables" may suggest that NetherRealm may indeed have enough assets to share at this point in development, but there are other restrictions or contingencies that prevent any announcements in the meantime.
These restrictions could potentially include a contract with an attached non-disclosure agreement. Likewise, NetherRealm could have its mouth shut due to an intellectual property's ownership license being owned by another entity or publisher who makes such decisions instead. Warner Bros owns many licenses and character rights, so it is possible that NetherRealm's next title features many of these same characters.
NetherRealm's rumored appearance for The Game Awards was confirmed to be false, but perhaps these "variables" were the reason that they were unable to show up. Further, if it is a restriction caused by its partnership with Warner Bros Interactive, NetherRealm's newest title could be pulled from announcements for multiple reasons. Warner Bros was rumored to have allegedly held back more news or trailers from Hogwarts Legacy because of the franchise's recent controversies, so it would be a repeated occurrence from Warner Bros at this point if true.
If NetherRealm is working on a Marvel game, these "variables" might refer to NetherRealm and their respective publisher gaining the rights to certain characters. Regardless, it will remain unclear as to what Boon means by "variables" until crucial details are shared later on. Once the game is finally announced it may become more reasonable as to why announcements were delayed or withheld, though it will seemingly be a while now before more information is shared.
