NetherRealm Studios has been around since 2010 when the formed out of the defunct Midway Games. NetherRealm was able to maintain the Mortal Kombat IP from Midway, so from the start the series was their main focus. They were quickly acquired by Warner Brothers and given the rights to make a DC fighting game which became Injustice: Gods Among Us. These two series were the only games that NetherRealm published (outside of one Batman: Arkham mobile game) for the past 10 years.
And this makes sense, 2017’s Injustice 2 was extremely popular, and 2019’s Mortal Kombat 11 is still thriving with the Aftermath DLC releasing soon. It seems however that NetherRealm has decided to branch out and create new game or two, maybe even a new franchise. In a Summer Game Fest stream recently, creative director Ed Boon had this to say:
Mortal Kombat has become like a staple thing, almost Marvel-like. You don’t expect the last Marvel movie to ever come out, they’re just gonna keep coming. Even though we’ve been able to scratch other itches, you know doing Injustice games and stuff, and we have other stuff in the oven, but it’s always nice to do the Mortal Kombat games.
There was no clarification as to what these other projects are, or when they would release, but it seems as if the studio will continue their current series, but potentially release one or some of these new projects first. There wasn’t even any mention of what kind of game these projects would be, though it is fair to assume that they are fighting games given NetherRealm’s focus and reputation in the genre.
Boon also discussed the excitement that they have within their studio for what the next-gen consoles will allow them to do. Regardless of what the actual new projects are, it seems that the studio is very excited about them and that they are embracing the new freedoms granted by next-gen gaming.