Mortal Kombat 1 Confirms MK11 Aftermath's Canon Ending

The first look at Mortal Kombat 1 confirms the canon ending of Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath, which saw Fire God Liu Kang and Shang Tsung fight to take control of Kronika’s power to rewrite history. Mortal Kombat 1 will pick up the story where Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath ended and continue to follow the adventures of the popular characters from this fighting game series.

Aftermath is an expansion for Mortal Kombat 11 that took place right after Kronika’s defeat. Fire God Liu Kang and Raiden tried to use her Hourglass to rewrite history, but Shang Tsung has other plans and fought against them to steal this powerful artifact and create his own New Era. Players could either make Fire God Liu Kang win and forge his New Era to train the Great Kung Lao to become his champion in Mortal Kombat, or Shang Tsung could win and gain Liu Kang’s powers to turn Raiden and Fujin into his servants. At the end of Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath, fans were left wondering whether Liu Kang or Shang Tsung won, and what was going to happen to the Mortal Kombat universe.

The first official trailer for Mortal Kombat 1 confirms that Liu Kang’s ending was canon in Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath, as the Fire God states that he created a new reality, giving everyone the choice the either live in quiet serenity or to continue fighting. Since Liu Kang is the one who created his own New Era, this means his ending was the canon one in Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath. Despite being defeated in that ending, Shang Tsung somehow manages to return in Mortal Kombat 1.

Mortal Kombat 1 is a soft reboot for the franchise, offering fighters a new chance to choose their destiny. However, things will probably go back to how they were, as the first trailer for Mortal Kombat 1 shows the new extremely violent Fatalities when a character defeats another. Popular fighters are coming back in Mortal Kombat 1, as this trailer confirms the return of Kitana, Kung Lao, Fire God Liu Kang, Mileena, Raiden, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Shang Tsung, the latter of which is actually a pre-order bonus.

The official Mortal Kombat website revealed more information about this upcoming game, including new features players can expect. Mortal Kombat 1 introduces a new Kameo Fighter system that brings an additional character to help players during their fights. Mortal Kombat 1 will also feature rollback netcode to offer a more stable connection during online matches and microtransactions to let players customize their favorite characters with additional cosmetic elements.

Mortal Kombat 1 launches September 19 for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.

Сhief editor at Apexmap.io
Commissioner/three-time winner of the Mario Party Championship Series, eSports expert
Sean Morrison
mortal-kombat-1-fire-god-liu-kang-aftermath-canon-ending