Injustice 3 Reportedly Set as NetherRealm’s Next Game After Mortal Kombat 1

Mortal Kombat 1 (which has sold 5 million copies since September 2023) just dropped its Definitive Edition, and if you’ve followed the NetherRealm Studios’ patterns over the years, that’s code for: “We’re done and moving onto the next game.” So, what’s next for the studio? Leaker “MultiverSusie” strongly believes it’s Injustice 3.

Eight years. That’s how long it’s been since the last entry in NetherRealm Studios’ Injustice series. I know it might not look like it because the visuals hold up remarkably well after all these years, but fighting games fans have been waiting for another chapter in the DC brawler series for nearly a decade. In the meantime, NetherRealm has been busy, releasing not one but two flagship Mortal Kombat titles.

Now, it looks like it’s Injustice‘s turn again. That’s great news for DC fans, but not so great for MK fans who were hoping for more DLC content. In a tweet on their official social media account, Warner Bros. acknowledged the “disappointing news” about Mortal Kombat 1 but reassured players by saying, “our team at NetherRealm needs to shift focus to the next project in order to make it as great as we possibly can.”

Why Was Injustice 3 Delayed?

No, it’s not James Gunn‘s fault. One of the reasons why Mortal Kombat 1 took priority over Injustice 3 has to do with NetherRealm refreshing the graphics engine for their fighting games. Injustice 2 ran on Unreal Engine 3 – a graphics engine that’s beyond dated by this point. Later NetherRealm titles used a heavily modified version of Unreal Engine 4, but Injustice 3 might go beyond that.

The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t help with the studio’s development process. Remote work and the woes of the 2020 pandemic season delayed work on post-release content for MK11. That same delay also affected the schedule for Injustice 3, with MK1 taking precedence at the studio as a result.

Now that MK1 has been out for over a year, a series of suspicious job postings might confirm that the release of Injustice 3 is just around the corner.

Unannounced Projects From NetherRealm

The Chicago-based studio behind the Mortal Kombat series published job postings claiming they’re looking for Associate Producers for their new project (first spotted on eXputer, a game forum website). Though the posting was purposefully vague on details, we know for a fact they’re working on a new AAA title.

Perhaps more interesting is that a second position listed as Senior Animator, Cinematics reveals a position is for a “high-quality cinematic animation for our story mode campaign.” That might sound familiar to fans of the Mortal Kombat and Injustice franchises. Lately, NetherRealm has been knocking it out of the park with their games’ Story Modes, and it’s safe to assume Injustice 3 will follow a similar blueprint.

Why Injustice?

There’s no indication that NetherRealm’s upcoming project is even related to the Injustice series, but that’s the only move that makes sense for the company now. Considering the time frame, now’s the best time to announce Injustice 3 – even better than it would have been if it came out immediately after MK11.

One of the objectives of the revamped DCU is to unify DC projects across multiple media formats. This means that everything from movies to TV shows and even video games would be part of a shared Multiverse. With James Gunn’s Superman spearheading the DCU, Injustice 3 should be there as the first DC video game of the DCU era.

What Could The Story In Injustice 3 Be?

The next Injustice game might have to deal with evil Superman’s escape from the Phantom Zone. After all, Batman might be looking to use the powers of the mighty Kryptonian. Even if he’s been depowered, there’s no reason to believe that there’s no way for Superman to restore his powers – worse things have happened to him before.

Another storyline that Injustice 3 could revisit lies with Doomsday. The character’s fate is uncertain in the Injustice universe, as the last we saw of him was when he was sent to the Phantom Zone. Perhaps a duo of Doomsday and Superman could be strong enough to break free of the pocket dimension and establish a new version of the Regime.

So far, there has been precious little information about what the next Injustice game could be about, as even the comics haven’t provided any leads into what the series’ future might hold.

There was a while after the Warner Bros. Discovery merger that fans were worried that there wouldn’t be a new Injustice game. NetherRealm was worried they wouldn’t make it as part of the company, so working on something that didn’t use its IP made the most sense. Grubb (@JeffGrubb) on Twitter shared, “I hope Injustice 3 still happens. What I heard is that they wanted to focus on MK12 due to uncertainties about WB’s future.”

10 DC Characters We Would Like To See In Injustice 3

NetherRealm did a pretty solid job with the previous titles’ rosters by including a lot of fan favourites in the video games. For the next game, Injustice 3, we’d like to see a few more off-the-wall and crazier DC heroes and villains added to the mix.

Supposedly, leaks about the development of Injustice 3 have confirmed that Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire, Robin, Etrigan, Nightwing, Poison Ivy, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Artemis, Metallo and Cyborg would all be part of the roster, giving us the chance to play as every member of the Teen Titans. If those rumours are true, then it’s very likely that we’ll also see the return of Deathstroke to the main roster.

But who else would we like to see return and debut?

10. Ra’s al Ghul

One of Batman’s most prominent villains, Ra’s al Ghul (one of the most powerful DC villains), appeared in some of Injustice’s complementary media but never in one of the games as a playable character. That could change with Injustice 3.

9. King Shark

The rise in popularity that the Suicide Squad has experienced in recent years can’t be ignored by future Injustice games. King Shark would be an obvious choice as a newcomer to the roster, seeing as he’s also appeared in the Rocksteady game Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

8. Batman Beyond

Over the last two games, the Injustice world has featured 5 different members of the Bat Family. And while each one added a unique skill set and was fun to play with, we can’t help but think that Batman Beyond / Terry McGinnis would be a lot more fun than some of the other additions.

Not only is he great at hand-to-hand combat, but his use of tech during a fight would make him one of the more interesting characters to choose. He is the Dark Knight with even more advanced tech.

7. Kitana

Injustice 2’s Robin proved that sword-based fighters work and are fun. Adding a character who purely relies on her sword would be a great way to expand on that design. There’s a lot of possibility for Kitana (one of the best Mortal Kombat characters) to be added in Injustice 3, given that she’s said to be very much alive in the comics.

6. Plastic Man

The addition of Blue Beetle in Injustice 2 was a significant step in the right direction for incorporating a more lighthearted character into the dark world of Injustice. Plastic Man would not only make for a great counterpart to MvC3’s Deadpool but could also introduce an interesting long-ranged playstyle to the game.

5. Booster Gold

A jerk with a heart of gold, Booster Gold would make a great Injustice 3 counterpart to Mortal Kombat’s Johnny Cage. Even though he’s considered dead in the Injustice series universe, he could potentially be brought back to add a playstyle that combines Batman’s gadgets with The Flash’s super speed.

4. Beast Boy

Shapeshifter-type characters always make for interesting playstyles in fighting games, and Injustice has sorely been lacking a representative of them. Beast Boy’s ability to transform into any animal he wants could make for a cool stance-based design where he can vary up his move set and change his game plan on the fly.

3. Thomas Wayne

He may be donning the Dark Knight’s cowl, but Thomas Wayne has been a huge fan favourite since the Flashpoint event. He has a completely different set of skills from Bruce’s, and his more brutal nature could make for an interesting alternative to Batman in Injustice 3.

2. Killer Croc

Previous games are sorely lacking in the grappler department. Especially with the absence of Grundy in Injustice 2, developer Netherrealm Studios would be remiss not to add another one in Injustice 3. Killer Croc fits the bill for the throw-based archetype and could make for a more traditional one because of his more straightforward approach to combat in the DC universe.

1. The Riddler

This is as off-the-wall as it gets with fighters that we’d like to see in Injustice 3. The Riddler isn’t a fighter on his own but does rely on his wit and silly gadgets to conduct his villainy. In Injustice 3, The Riddler could be a trap-based archetype fighter who controls space by placing objects on the ground and in the air to deter foes from approaching. Having him be the first character to interact differently with stage hazards could also be possible.

Of course, we’d also like to see Constantine finally show up.

The Matrix’s Neo Might Be The Best DLC Character Ever

In recent years, Injustice has surprised us with unexpected characters such as Hellboy and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, so it isn’t outside of the realm of possibility to expect The Matrix‘s Neo, who’s rumoured to be one of the major day-one DLC characters. It would be second time lucky as NetherRealms’ Ed Boon confirmed to Game Informer that the famous Chosen One almost appeared in Injustice 2.

Since Warner Bros. owns the distribution rights for The Matrix, the company can use its other owned stages to cross-promote its various properties. Marketing potential aside, a character like Neo would fit into Injustice 3 like a glove. His unique fighting style is highly visual and something that players would get a kick out of performing. His combos would be at the next level, and you can only imagine how his super move would be out of this world. Plus, wouldn’t it be incredible if Keanu Reeves also voiced the character in the game?

RELATED: Mortal Kombat vs DC Animated Movie: Here’s What We Missed Out On

Tell us, are you excited about Injustice 3?