Key Highlights:
- Ed Boon posted the word “tick” 12 times on 29 March 2023.
- Fans interpreted the repeated word as a reference to Mortal Kombat 12 and an approaching reveal.
- NetherRealm officially announced the game as Mortal Kombat 1 on 18 May 2023.
Quick Links:
Ed Boon fuelled speculation about NetherRealm Studios’ next game by posting the word “tick” 12 times on social media on 29 March 2023.
Fans interpreted the number of repetitions as a deliberate reference to Mortal Kombat 12. The message also suggested that time could be running down towards an official announcement.
NetherRealm did not explain the teaser when this article was originally published on 1 April 2023. However, the speculation proved well founded. The studio officially revealed the project as Mortal Kombat 1 on 18 May 2023.
What Did Ed Boon Post?
Boon arranged the word “tick” across three lines, with four repetitions on each line:
The post contained no game title, announcement date or additional explanation.
Its structure nevertheless produced an obvious interpretation. Three lines containing four ticks created a total of 12, which fans connected to the next numbered Mortal Kombat instalment.
I viewed the message as a teaser rather than confirmation. Boon regularly uses jokes, polls and deliberately vague posts to encourage discussion around NetherRealm’s projects.
Mortal Kombat 12 Had Already Been Named
The 12-tick post appeared after Warner Bros. Discovery had already named Mortal Kombat 12 during its fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call.
Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive David Zaslav listed the game alongside Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and said both were planned for release during 2023.
That statement confirmed the next Mortal Kombat project before NetherRealm had conducted its own formal reveal campaign. Boon’s post therefore reignited speculation about when the first trailer and official details would arrive.
The Teaser Preceded the Mortal Kombat 1 Reveal
NetherRealm announced Mortal Kombat 1 on 18 May 2023, approximately seven weeks after the 12-tick post.
The title represented the twelfth main fighting game developed by NetherRealm and its predecessors, but the studio did not release it under the expected Mortal Kombat 12 name. Mortal Kombat 1 instead established another reset for the series and introduced Liu Kang’s New Era.
Following the announcement, NetherRealm confirmed that the first Mortal Kombat 1 gameplay reveal would take place during Summer Game Fest. That presentation produced the first substantial Mortal Kombat 1 gameplay trailer and confirmed six additional characters for the roster.
Warner Bros. Games released Mortal Kombat 1 on 19 September 2023 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and Windows PC.
Boon never publicly defined every intended meaning behind the “tick” message. However, its timing, its 12 repetitions and the reveal that followed made it one of the earliest direct social-media teasers for Mortal Kombat 1.
