Following the successful launch of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Midway has revealed that progress is already underway on the next Mortal Kombat title.
Midway announced today that Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe has shipped roughly 1.8 million units for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game is also the most pre-ordered Mortal Kombat title in the company’s history, and GameSpy reports that over 3.6 million matches have been fought worldwide on the PlayStation 3 alone.
“Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe was the result of countless hours of hard work by many people, and seeing the game surpass the million-seller plateau makes it worth all the effort,” said Mortal Kombat co-founder and Midway Creative Director Ed Boon. “We’re already hard at work on our next version of Mortal Kombat, and look forward to being able to reveal more details in the future.”
Another addition to a successful franchise is hardly shocking news, but Midway has ridden the Mortal Kombat horse awfully hard since its debut in 1992. The company’s long-running financial straits have left it desperately struggling against bankruptcy, and as Eidos recently learned, churning out new titles in long-standing series is no guarantee of success. Will the next Mortal Kombat be able to return the series to relevance, or will it be just another fighting game? 1.8 million units shipped is a respectable but somewhat modest success, particularly spread across two platforms, and for a company in Midway’s position that’s just not enough.
