Quan Chi Takes Centre Stage in Mortal Kombat 1 Gameplay Trailer

NetherRealm Studios has released the official Quan Chi gameplay trailer for Mortal Kombat 1, showcasing the returning sorcerer’s dark magic, portal attacks and Fatality during CCXP 2023 in Brazil.

The reveal follows Ed Boon’s earlier CCXP teaser, which showed Quan Chi confronting Shang Tsung without revealing his full moveset.

The new trailer confirms that Quan Chi will become playable on 14 December 2023 for Premium Edition and Kombat Pack owners, followed by a general release on 21 December.

Quan Chi’s Dark Magic and Portal Attacks Revealed

Quan Chi uses necromancy, skull projectiles and supernatural portals to attack opponents in the new gameplay footage, giving the returning character a distinct fighting style built around dark magic.

The trailer shows him summoning enormous tentacles through portals to strike opponents, alongside skeletal attacks and projectiles that extend his offensive reach.

His portals also serve a more direct combat purpose. Rather than simply teleporting across the arena, Quan Chi can send attacks through openings that appear at different positions, including kicks delivered from unexpected angles.

These abilities give the sorcerer several ways to threaten opponents without relying entirely on conventional close-range strikes.

What interests me most is the variety of attack directions shown in the footage. An opponent preparing to defend against a projectile from Quan Chi’s position may also need to account for an attack emerging from a portal elsewhere on the screen.

Whether those tools make him especially powerful will depend on how they perform in actual matches, but the trailer establishes a very different approach from the more traditional martial artists on the roster.

Quan Chi’s supernatural abilities extend to his finishing moves, with the trailer demonstrating the grisly violence associated with his NetherRealm sorcery.

Players looking for the actual execution inputs can find both character-specific finishers in our Quan Chi Fatalities guide.

The gameplay footage also provides a wealth of close-up details, from Quan Chi’s portal-assisted kicks and skull attacks to his cinematic sequences. The gallery below contains 14 screenshots from the reveal.

Khameleon and Peacemaker Appear in the Trailer

Quan Chi isn’t the only character featured in the CCXP gameplay reveal. Khameleon also appears as an upcoming Kameo Fighter, demonstrating assist moves inspired by Kitana, Mileena and Jade.

Her shapeshifting abilities allow her to draw on the techniques of multiple female ninjas, distinguishing her from Kameos that primarily represent one established fighting style.

Khameleon is scheduled to join Mortal Kombat 1’s Kameo roster in January 2024, meaning she will not arrive alongside Quan Chi on 14 December.

The trailer also concludes with a brief appearance by Peacemaker, the DC Comics antihero portrayed by John Cena.

Peacemaker has already been confirmed as part of Kombat Pack 1, but this short appearance is a character tease rather than a demonstration of his fighting mechanics.

His inclusion continues the post-launch rollout that began with Omni-Man’s November gameplay reveal.

Quan Chi will be the second playable Kombat Pack Fighter to join Mortal Kombat 1, followed by additional DLC characters including Peacemaker, Ermac, Homelander and Takeda Takahashi.

The most significant part of this announcement is that Quan Chi now has a confirmed release schedule and a proper showcase of his combat abilities. His story-mode appearance established his role in the new Mortal Kombat timeline, but the CCXP footage finally demonstrates what players can expect when controlling him.

Later Update: NetherRealm subsequently released the Peacemaker gameplay trailer, revealing his attacks, Eagly assists and Fatalities ahead of his DLC launch.