Key Highlights:
- NetherRealm released a second Mortal Kombat 1 teaser on 10 May 2023.
- The clock moved through nine, ten and eleven before skipping 12 and stopping at one.
- Warner Bros. Games officially revealed Mortal Kombat 1 eight days later.
NetherRealm Studios released a Mortal Kombat teaser on 10 May 2023 showing a clock moving past 12 and stopping at one.
The brief video provided the clearest indication yet that NetherRealm’s next game would be called Mortal Kombat 1 rather than Mortal Kombat 12.
Its clock hand moved from nine to ten and then eleven. The hand briefly shook before passing the expected 12 position and landing on one.
The Mortal Kombat social media account accompanied the teaser with the question: “Does anyone know what time it is?”
NetherRealm did not explain the footage when it was published. However, skipping 12 and stopping at one pointed directly towards the unexpected title that Warner Bros. Games announced eight days later.
The clock followed NetherRealm’s first direct teaser on 1 May 2023. That video showed sand falling through an Hourglass before an individual grain exploded, foreshadowing the destruction and recreation of Mortal Kombat’s timeline.
The second teaser narrowed the message. Rather than only suggesting another timeline reset, the clock indicated that the series would move beyond the expected Mortal Kombat 12 name and return to the number one.
I considered the clock a much less ambiguous clue than the earlier Hourglass footage. The first teaser established the New Era concept, while the second almost revealed the game’s title without displaying it.
The imagery also reflected Mortal Kombat 1’s story premise. Fire God Liu Kang had recreated history through Kronika’s Hourglass, producing a New Era in which familiar characters lived altered lives.
Warner Bros. Games officially announced Mortal Kombat 1 on 18 May 2023. The reveal confirmed a reborn universe created by Fire God Liu Kang, eight initial characters and a 19 September 2023 release date.
The New Era also changed established character identities and relationships. Kuai Liang became Scorpion, while his older brother Bi-Han retained the Sub-Zero mantle and led the Lin Kuei.
NetherRealm’s clock teaser therefore served two connected purposes. It suggested that the previous timeline had ended and signalled that the next game would be titled Mortal Kombat 1 rather than Mortal Kombat 12.
