NetherRealm’s Ed Boon has just hinted that the long-awaited Injustice 3 could come after Mortal Kombat 1 is released later this year. After playing around with the concept in 2008’s Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, NetherRealm combined the classic 2D fighting gameplay of Mortal Kombat with the iconic heroes and villains of DC Comics to create Injustice: Gods Among Us in 2013. Set in an alternate timeline where Superman became corrupt following the tragic deaths of Lois Lane and their unborn child, the first Injustice game would generate a sequel, an entire line of spin-off comics, and even an animated film adaptation.
Fans were eager for more Injustice content when NetherRealm announced the end of Mortal Kombat 11 in 2021, but it was later confirmed that the studio was instead developing the next Mortal Kombat game. While the timeline-rebooting Mortal Kombat 1 is certainly an exciting prospect, many of these fans were left feeling disappointed that a new Injustice game didn’t seem to be on the horizon after all - especially after Injustice 2 presented a chilling cliffhanger in its alternate “bad” ending that could very well set up the next chapter in this darker section of the DC multiverse.
There might yet be hope for the Injustice series, as Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon recently revealed that NetherRealm will circle back to its deconstructive comic-book fighting series sometime after Mortal Kombat 1. In a recent appearance on The Jeff Gertsmann Show podcast, Boon stated that NetherRealm took so long to announce Mortal Kombat 1 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also said that developing a new Injustice game before MK 1 would have resulted in a seven-year gap between Mortal Kombat games, so NetherRealm chose to work on the latter first to highlight what it can do with Unreal Engine 4.
Boon then said that NetherRealm plans to start developing a new Injustice game at some point after Mortal Kombat 1 launches in September, but it will probably be a long time before Batman and Superman clash once more. He didn’t necessarily state that work on the next Injustice will begin immediately after MK 1, as NetherRealm plans to support its latest fighting game for quite some time post-release. Some of the developer’s DLC plans for Mortal Kombat 1 have been leaked ahead of time, with Invincible villain Omni-Man and The Boys’ villain Homelander being among the characters rumored to appear as playable guest fighters.
Both characters are very similar to the Injustice version of Superman, which could be a nice segue from Mortal Kombat 1 to the next Injustice game. It isn’t clear yet when Injustice 3 could be announced, but Ed Boon has at least confirmed that NetherRealm plans on returning to its twisted DC universe eventually.
Injustice 3 is rumored to be in development.
Source: The Jeff Gertsmann Show (via The Gamer)