The internet is brutalizing Mortal Kombat for NetherRealm Studios’ decision to introduce a seasonal Halloween Fatality pack to Mortal Kombat 1 for a premium price in the latest entry for its legendary fighting game franchise.
The uproar began earlier this week when Warner Bros. Games announced that a Halloween Fatality would be up sold on Mortal Kombat 1’s Premium Shop. This special Fatality was priced at 1200 Dragon Krystals, equivalent to around $10 if you factor in the Dragon Krystal bundles available. The pricing obviously caught fans slack jawed, considering many had already shelled out $70 for the game or even $110 for the premium edition. With this addition, there are genuine concerns that Mortal Kombat 1 is becoming a freemium game despite its premium entry fee.
This isn’t the first time NetherRealm Studios has dabbled with microtransactions. Older Mortal Kombat games featured DLC fighters, story expansions, and a plethora of cosmetic options through an in-game storefront. However, what sets this incident apart is the introduction of exclusive Fatalities, one of the series’ defining features, behind a paywall.
Many players would likely have welcomed post-launch Fatality additions with open arms. The only problem is that the game is asking fans to pay for these beloved features. Instead of joy, many feel betrayed by the franchise that they’ve supported for decades. The Halloween Fatality, which showcases a gruesome Halloween-themed animation involving a putrid Jack-o-Lantern, has been met with mixed reactions, not due to its content, but because of the hefty price tag it carries. The backlash has grown so intense that some members of the community are actively urging others to boycott the Fatality to discourage such practices in the future.
The argument exists that these aren’t technically paywalls, but rather, microtransactions. The distinction is that, while an example of blatant greed, Halloween Fatality doesn’t affect gameplay progression at all. Of course, the fact remains that the studio is making players pay for content that should either be free or locked behind gameplay progression.
A good example of a game that includes everything with its pricing is Alan Wake 2. It’s a single-player narrative-driven game – and a damn good one, at that – that’s free from transactions and offers an offline gaming experience with little to no bugs. In comparison, Mortal Kombat 1 comes with a much higher price tag with microtransactions, including a season pass and a character that, unless pre-ordered, requires additional payment.
In a way, this mirrors the issue fans had with Diablo 4 and its macrotransactions. Perhaps the only difference is that the controversial dungeon crawler was always a live-service game – Mortal Kombat 1 technically still isn’t.
Further aggravating the issue is the $10 increase in pricing compared to its predecessor, Mortal Kombat 11. Players are questioning the rationale behind this hike, especially as the newer game appears to have more aggressive monetization strategies. The Halloween offerings aren’t just limited to the contentious Fatality. The in-game store also promotes four “Halloween” skins, simple color palette changes priced at $5 each, and an event area where victories reward players with mere recolors of existing skins.
While NetherRealm Studios hasn’t officially responded to the concerns, it’s evident that they’ve ruffled some feathers. As the studio teases more DLCs in the pipeline, it may want to re-evaluate its monetization strategies if it hopes to retain the trust and loyalty of its fan base.
