NetherRealm Studios (NRS) released a ton of information on Mortal Kombat 1’s second year of content today during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns has been officially announced, and the big expansion coming later this year is set to come packed with a whole lot of goodies for fans.
The largest selling point for most will be Khaos Reigns’ six upcoming DLC characters in Kombat Pack 2: Ghostface, Sektor, Cyrax, T-1000, Conan the Barbarian, and Noob Saibot. Unfortunately, those looking to pick up these new fighters won’t be able to do so by purchasing Kombat Pack 2 on its own, but here are the details on the different purchase options for Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns.
To put this into simpler perspective to understand, it appears that Warner Bros. and NRS are essentially handling the release of Khaos Reigns nearly identically to how they released Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath.
The latest entry in the long-running fighting game franchise is not only receiving new characters, but also a new cinematic story mode installment, new features, and new costumes — just like Aftermath. Also similar to Aftermath is the new title, which adds a sub-title to “Mortal Kombat 1,” and the buying options for Khaos Reigns are also being managed nearly identically to Aftermath.
While many people would undoubtedly want to purchase Kombat Pack 2 as its own item if they already own the Mortal Kombat 1 base game, it unfortunately doesn’t work that way due to the other additions being made to the game overall. That said, the pricing does make sense considering what all is being added.
So, let’s get into the nitty gritty. For those of us who already own Mortal Kombat 1 in some capacity, the easiest way to get the upcoming content will be through the “Expansion” option. The Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns Expansion will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC for $49.99 USD and Nintendo Switch for $39.99, and this option will include all of the content set to be added in Khaos Reigns.
Looking up pricing of the first Kombat Pack, we see that the Khaos Reigns Expansion is $20 more than what the standard Kombat Pack 1 retails at — which is $29.99 USD. This makes sense considering the added story mode chapters and additional goodies coming to the game.
If you already own Mortal Kombat 1, but don’t have Kombat Pack 1, you can purchase the Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns Bundle on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC for $59.99 USD / Nintendo Switch for $49.99. This will get you everything the Expansion gets you, but basically grants you access to Kombat Pack 1 as well for just $10 more.
If you pre-order the Khaos Reigns Bundle now, you’ll be granted immediate access to the previous Kombat Pack, which includes the Jean-Claude Van Damme character skin for Johnny Cage, six DLC characters — Omni-Man, Quan Chi, Peacemaker, Ermac, Homelander, and Takeda Takahashi — as well as five DLC Kameo Fighters — Tremor, Khameleon, Janet Cage, Mavado, and Ferra. Additionally, for new players, the Kombat Pack is available now as part of the Mortal Kombat 1 Premium Edition.
Neither of the Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns purchase options include the base MK1 game, so you’ll need to make sure you own a copy of the game itself before trying to get anything related to the upcoming expansion.
At the time of writing this, there is no word on whether or not the Kombat Pack 2 characters will be available for individual purchase at any point. Though it’s likely that that option doesn’t exist right now, it is worth noting that eventually the Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath characters (Sheeva, Fujin, and Robocop) were all made available as standalone purchase items for $5.99 USD despite being released as part of the Aftermath expansion originally, so there’s a chance we might see the same happen here down the road.
If you do pre-order either of the Khaos Reigns purchase options, you can also expect to receive four additional costumes. You’ll gain access to Wedding Scorpion, Empress Mileena, and klassic Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 versions of Sub-Zero and Noob Saibot at no extra charge.
Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns is adding six new fighters to the battle, new cinematic story chapters, a free update that will bring classic finisher type Animalities for every fighter back into the mix, and even additional costumes. It will see its launch digitally on September 24, 2024.
