Key Highlights:
- Billbil-kun correctly reported the Mortal Kombat 1 title, platforms and editions on 11 May 2023.
- Windows Central connected Peacemaker and Homelander with the game’s planned downloadable roster.
- Warner Bros. Games officially announced Mortal Kombat 1 seven days later.
A major leak on 11 May 2023 correctly revealed that NetherRealm Studios’ next game would be called Mortal Kombat 1 rather than Mortal Kombat 12.
The report also identified the game’s planned platforms, three launch editions and September 2023 release window. A separate Windows Central report connected Peacemaker and Homelander with the game’s downloadable character plans.
The information appeared one week before Warner Bros. Games officially announced Mortal Kombat 1.
Reliable leaker billbil-kun reported that the game would launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and Windows PC. No PlayStation 4 or Xbox One versions were listed.
The leak named three editions:
- Standard Edition: $69.99 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S
- Premium Edition: $109.99
- Kollector’s Edition: $249.99 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S
The Nintendo Switch Standard Edition was listed at $59.99.
Those details proved largely accurate when Warner Bros. Games opened pre-orders on 18 May 2023. The Premium Edition included the Kombat Pack, early access to the game and additional Dragon Krystals, while the Kollector’s Edition added physical collectibles.
The unexpected title also matched NetherRealm’s earlier clock teaser. Its hand moved from nine to ten and eleven before skipping 12 and stopping at one.
That sequence strongly suggested the series would move past the expected Mortal Kombat 12 name and return to Mortal Kombat 1.
Windows Central separately reported that Peacemaker and Homelander were connected with the planned Character Pass. Peacemaker is the DC character portrayed by John Cena, while Homelander is the central antagonist of The Boys.
Neither guest fighter had been officially confirmed when the report appeared. Their involvement was later validated when NetherRealm revealed the first Kombat Pack at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2023.
The complete Kombat Pack contained six playable Fighters:
- Omni-Man
- Quan Chi
- Peacemaker
- Ermac
- Homelander
- Takeda Takahashi
It also included five Kameo Fighters: Tremor, Khameleon, Janet Cage, Mavado and Ferra.
The May report did not identify the full Kombat Pack. An Amazon Italy listing leaked the remaining Fighters and Kameos after Mortal Kombat 1’s official announcement.
I consider the title the most significant part of the original leak because it explained NetherRealm’s otherwise cryptic clock teaser before the studio displayed the Mortal Kombat 1 name publicly.
The game launched on 19 September 2023 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and Windows PC.
The 11 May leak therefore provided an unusually accurate early account of the game’s identity, launch formats and downloadable guest-character plans.
