The Mortal Kombat series is a legendary fighting game franchise known for its intense combat, iconic characters, and brutal finishing moves called Fatalities. First released in 1992 by Midway Games, it quickly gained fame for its realistic digitized graphics and controversial violence.
These games follow a mystical martial arts tournament where warriors from different realms, like Earthrealm and Outworld, battle for survival and supremacy. Characters like Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Raiden have become gaming icons, and the franchise has expanded into movies, comics, and TV shows. Mortal Kombat continues to evolve, delivering thrilling gameplay and pushing the boundaries of fighting games.
Here is a list of the Mortal Kombat games, in both production order and chronological order.
Production (Release) Order
- Mortal Kombat (1992)
- Mortal Kombat 2 (1993)
- Mortal Kombat 3 (1995)
- Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1995)
- Mortal Kombat Trilogy (1996)
- Mortal Kombat 4 (1997)
- Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero (1997)
- Mortal Kombat Gold (1999)
- Mortal Kombat: Special Forces (2000)
- Mortal Kombat Advance (2001)
- Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002)
- Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition (2003)
- Mortal Kombat: Deception (2004)
- Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (2005)
- Mortal Kombat: Unchained (2006)
- Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (2006)
- Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (2008)
- Mortal Kombat (2011)
- Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection (2011)
- Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition (2012)
- Mortal Kombat Mobile (2015)
- Mortal Kombat X (2015)
- Mortal Kombat XL (2016)
- Mortal Kombat 11 (2019)
- Mortal Kombat: Onslaught (2023)
- Mortal Kombat 1 (2023)
Chronological Order
If you wanted to play the games in chronological order, here is how you would do it. Some of the games are remakes or remasters of older games. In these instances, the games have been grouped together on the timeline.
Original timeline
- Mortal Kombat: Special Forces (2000)
- Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero (1997)
- Mortal Kombat (1992)
- Mortal Kombat 2 (1993)
- Mortal Kombat 3 (1995) / Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1995) / Mortal Kombat Trilogy (1996)
- Mortal Kombat 4 (1997) / Mortal Kombat Gold (1999)
- Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002) / Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition (2003)
- Mortal Kombat: Deception (2004) / Mortal Kombat: Unchained (2006)
- Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (2006)
DC Universe crossover
Mortal Kombat 11 confirmed that Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe takes place in its own timeline. According to the game, Kronika had manipulated the timeline to create the standalone reality. As such, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe exists on its own in this chronology list.
- Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (2008)
NetherRealm Studios timeline
In 2010 Warner Brothers acquired Midway Games and reorganized the company into NetherRealm Studios. In 2011 NetherRealm released Mortal Kombat, which rebooted the franchise. An alternate timeline was created after Raiden receives a message from his future self.
- Mortal Kombat (2011)
- Mortal Kombat X (2015)/ Mortal Kombat Mobile (2015)
- Mortal Kombat 11 (2019)
Rebooted timeline
Mortal Kombat 1, the latest entry in the series, reboots the franchise. A new timeline will be created following the events of Mortal Kombat 11.
- Mortal Kombat 1 (2023)