It’s been dead silent within the violent realms of Mortal Kombat as we still haven’t heard anything from Netherrealm Studios regarding the future of the franchise. Support for the ultra-successful Mortal Kombat 11 ended some time ago and things have yet to officially materialize from the rumored Mortal Kombat 12 tidbits last December.
Today, however, puts a pause on the Mortal Kombat drought fans have been going through as a Netherrealm Studios staffer may have unknowingly confirmed the 12th installment in the franchise. Senior production manager Jonathan Andersen (or Jandy as he’s known in the community) tweeted this innocuous image today but quickly deleted it.
Any sane person would write this off as a neat look at a Netherrealm employee’s desk but an insane, obsessive fan like me would always think to zoom in on the periphery. Lo and behold, here’s what a zoomed-in image on Andersen’s monitor looks like.
If that image is too blurry for you, it reads MK12_Mast… which could likely be a masthead for the game. One of the files next to it has the name Reptile on it as well.
Could this be one of those intentional gags people have been known to pull to throw fans off? It could very well be. Fans of the MCU are well-versed in the faux leaks Tom Holland has been known to do. Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon himself frequently messes with fans online. An email that can be partially read from the image above addresses the confidentiality of the document which could be a tongue-in-cheek nod to this charade.
However, there’s also no reason to stir the pot this deliberately. For one, it’s an unnecessary attempt to draw attention to a game that’s been stored under lock and key. For another, it’s hard to imagine that a Twitter stunt by one of the game’s senior designers would be approved by the execs over at Warner Bros. Tom Holland’s “leaks” are obvious and are explicitly played for the laughs while this is one meticulous and near-impossible to notice. This feels like a genuine fumble by a staffer.
