The next installment in the Mortal Kombat franchise will be releasing closer than anyone expected. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav made the surprising announcement during an fourth quarter fiscal year 2022 earnings call on Thursday. According to Zaslav, Mortal Kombat 12 will be releasing sometime in 2023 alongside Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League.

“There’s lots more to come,” said Zaslav. “including the highly anticipated Mortal Kombat 12 and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, games also set for release this year with ambitious launch projections.”

Mortal Kombat 12 confirmed for this year in a Warner Bros. Discovery earnings call https://t.co/VrllYL9bDP

— Wario64 (@Wario64) February 23, 2023

The reaction towards the announcement from the gaming community was and continues to be overwhelmingly positive. That being said, many have gone to question and even criticize the way Mortal Kombat 12 was announced.

Did they really just announce Mortal Kombat 12 in an earnings call?

— Grubb (@JeffGrubb) February 23, 2023

Not too surprised Mortal Kombat 12 was announced like this

David Zaslav is a business man first and foremost and Warner Bros Discovery stock isn’t worth much atm. After the massive success of Hogwarts Legacy also in gaming he wants to drive up the stock price as much as he can https://t.co/Mf1zP1v1vf

— Benji-Sales (@BenjiSales) February 24, 2023

Regardless, the excitement for the newest Mortal Kombat installment seems to be growing even stronger. Mortal Kombat 11 for many was highly received, bringing with it some of the most brutal combos and fatalities the series has ever seen. It will be interesting to see what NetherRelm Studios will bring to the table for this next entry.

With Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8 also likely sharing the same release window, 2023-2024 is looking to be huge for the fighting game genre.