King of the Hill confirmed for a later date
For the first time, Mortal Kombat players on PC can fight against their PC brethren, which will be much appreciated, though it seems there are still some limitations.
Krossplay and Kross-Progression officially launched in Mortal Kombat 1 today in the new update alongside Peacemaker to combine the bases of PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC through Steam and the Epic Game Store with some notable exceptions.
After enabling Krossplay (which is apparently off by default), MK1 users can be paired up against other systems for online matchmaking in “Ranked Kombat League and Kasual Versus Online multiplayer matches and invite friends for Private Versus matches.”
That also includes online replays, leaderboards and Kombat Kards, which can be accessed after linking your copy of MK1 to a WB Games account.
What’s currently missing, however, is King of the Hill mode Krossplay though NetherRealm Studios confirmed it will be added in a future update.
This is most painful to the competitive scene because the lack of KOTH support right now means Krossplay online tournaments will remain impossible if they have any streaming or video element to them since that’s the only way to actively spectate live matches.
KOTH krossplay will be coming to #MK1 in a future update
— Mortal Kombat 1 (@MortalKombat) February 27, 2024
A workaround could be to have players face off in 1v1 rooms with tournament runners viewing the replays afterwards, but that isn’t exactly ideal.
It also prevents groups of friends or multiple users from all playing together in the same room though at least we know KOTH is coming and has been communicated to the audience.
Given how updates have been shaping up for MK1, we’re likely to be waiting until at least Homelander or Ermac’s releases later this Spring to see the full online suite supported finally, and a good day that’ll hopefully be.
Another interesting quirk of Krossplay is that PC players will need to pass a benchmark to be able to access matchmaking against other systems.
Failing the benchmark can be due to lower than required PC specs or running the game from an HDD instead of a high-speed SSD like MK1 suggests.
PC players would need to pass a secondary benchmark to be able to Kross play.
Image by @pappiwata#MK1 #MortalKombat1 pic.twitter.com/pqcZpgIiEw
— thethiny (@thethiny) February 28, 2024
This is actually a good thing since it’ll hopefully help stop console players from facing poorly-running or inconsistent matches from hardware that’s beyond their control.
We’ve seen similar implementations in other recent fighting games, but benchmark requirements are something that probably should become standard on PC overall.
A PC player who fails the PC benchmark can still invite console players to 1v1 private matches though the PS5 and Xbox users may receive a “Slow HDD Detected” message when inviting them.
Overall, this seems to be shaping up to be a pretty good update for MK1 overall though it needs at least one more patch for it to truly be great.
You can find more information on Krossplay in Mortal Kombat 1 through WB’s official FAQ.