NetherRealm Studios' presence at The Game Awards has been sorely missed for years now. You can't exactly blame fans for expecting. Ed Boon set a precedent by dropping a surprise reveal four years ago at the very same event.

But, while Boon clarified that NetherRealm is not going to be present at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles (and it wasn't), Boon did tease that the announcement could come within the next six months.

One fan bravely asked Boon on Twitter about a potential release window for NetherRealm Studios' next announcement, he gave a very specific answer:

Could we see an announcement within six months?

— αδώνης (@SavageGoodVibes) December 11, 2022

Based on Boon's other replies, NetherRealm Studios could announce its next game in six months and release it just a few months later. In an ideal timeline, this would put the next game's announcement at E3 2023, which is when it comes back, after its hiatus earlier this year. This is the best way to go about things as the Entertainment Software Association will want to make sure that all eyes are on its return.

Then again, NetherRealm Studios have traditionally stuck with an April release window for its most recent games. Excluding its mobile titles, NetherRealm launched its Injustice and Mortal Kombat games in April. The only outlier is Injustice 2, which came out on May 11 in 2017.

Having said that, times have changed and NetherRealm could've adjusted along with it.

Earlier last year, the Nvidia GeForce Now leak teased two upcoming games by NetherRealm: Mortal Kombat 12 and Injustice 3: Gods Will Fall. We doubt the latter is going as planned if only because DC Comics, which is now under the newly-merged Warner Bros. Discovery, is going through a transition period. The last we heard, James Gunn wants to integrate games into the DC Universe, so there's that. On the flip side, Mortal Kombat 12 is a safer bet.

Mortal Kombat 11 was well-loved by critics and has since become the best-selling game in the history of the franchise. Perhaps Boon was leaning into this when he mentioned Mortal Kombat 11 was the studio's longest-supported game and the next one will be supported for even longer.

By supporting Mortal Kombat 12 for roughly 2 years following its tentative launch late next year, NetherRealm will have bought itself enough time to know if Gunn's plans for the wider DC Universe include Injustice 3 or if the studio's original plans for the threequel are good to go.