Mortal Kombat X[b] is a 2015 fighting game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One.

High Voltage Software developed the Windows version of the game, with Polish studio QLOC taking over the work on it shortly after the release of Kombat Pack 1.

However, the PC version of the game was met with mixed reception, with reviewers citing numerous technical issues (including frequent crashes and slow netcode) as problems that severely hinder the experience.

Similarly to NetherRealm Studios' previous title, Injustice: Gods Among Us, fighters are able to interact with the environment, using parts of the scenery to reposition themselves or using available objects as weapons.

[6] Additionally, a Stamina Meter has been added under the health bar, which consists of two sections, and is consumed whenever the player runs, performs a back dash, a combo breaker, a stage interaction, or certain special techniques, such as cancelling Scorpion's teleports.

In addition to the usual Fatalities, Mortal Kombat X features two new types of finishing moves: Quitality, which instantly kills the player's character if they rage quit during a multiplayer match;[8] and Faction Kills, a set of finishing moves available to players based on the selection of one of the game's five factions (Black Dragon, Brotherhood of Shadow, Lin Kuei, Special Forces, and White Lotus).

Johnny, Raiden, and Sonya track him to his lair in the Netherrealm and defeat him, successfully restoring Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Jax to human form in the process after Quan Chi's failed attempt to turn Cage into a revenant, though the former escapes again.

Scorpion, now using his original name, Hanzo Hasashi, rebuilds his Shirai Ryu clan while mentoring Kenshi's son Takeda, and Sub-Zero becomes the new Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei after killing Sektor.

After fighting his way through the revenants of his former allies, Jax captures a weakened Quan Chi, who is brought to Earthrealm and held at an Outworld refugee camp.

Hasashi infiltrates the refugee camp alongside his clan with the intent of assassinating Quan Chi as revenge for ruining his life, defeating Kenshi, Johnny, and Sonya in the process.

With the aid of Quan Chi's revenants, Shinnok and D'Vorah assault the Sky Temple, and subdue Raiden and Bo' Rai Cho in the process.

Sometime later, Raiden, now in possession of Shinnok's amulet and corrupted in the process of purifying the Jinsei, issues a warning to the revenants Liu Kang and Kitana, now rulers of the Netherrealm, that they will face "fates worse than death" if they threaten Earthrealm.

[15] Kombat Pack 1 Kombat Pack 2 Along with series staples such as Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Liu Kang, Kitana and Raiden, several new fighters are added to the series' roster: D'Vorah, an insectoid humanoid who controls other insects; Ferra/Torr, a symbiotic pairing consisting of a young armored female warrior and a giant masked brute; and Kotal Kahn, an Aztec-inspired "blood god" who is the new emperor of Outworld.

Other notable characters that appear, but are not playable include Baraka, Sindel, Fujin, Rain, Sareena, Li Mei, Frost, Stryker, Kabal, Nightwolf and Smoke.

Boon posted daily riddles on his Twitter account that constituted a countdown suggesting a June 2 announcement date,[28][29] hinting at the game's title being Mortal Kombat X.

[30][31] One of the Twitter clues left by Boon teasing this title was the image of a Lincoln MKX emblem posted with the comment, "I wonder what the X stands for?

"[37] By July 2015, due to heavy criticism for the porting issues that plagued the PC release of the game, almost all references to Mortal Kombat X had been removed from High Voltage Software's Facebook page.

On August 28, 2015, Warner Bros. announced the cancellation of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 ports (originally scheduled for release at a later unspecified date) of Mortal Kombat X due to the inability to get the version for the last gen consoles to reach the quality standards set by the current generation.

[40] However, on August 25, 2016, an open beta test period of the online functionality of XL was announced for the PC,[41] and ultimately a release date was set for October 4, 2016.

[43] The debut trailer and opening cinematic features an original track by Wiz Khalifa titled "Can't Be Stopped".

[44] The official television commercial and launch trailer for the game were directed by System of a Down member Shavo Odadjian and featured the band's 2001 track "Chop Suey!".

[45][46] The Mortal Kombat X logo was featured on NASCAR driver Erik Jones' #20 Xfinity Series car (sponsored by GameStop) that won the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 on April 10, 2015.

[48] The ESL Pro League Season 1 Finals were won by Critical Reaction's Dominique "Sonic Fox" McLean using Kitana with Erron Black as a secondary.

[64] Shortly after, an online-only beta was officially released on August 25, 2016, as a free-to-play title on Steam in order to test the enhanced netcode, which lasted through September 1, 2016.

[66] As revealed by the game's updated intro credits, the porting of XL to the PC was handled by QLOC, in opposition to the previous problematic releases, by High Voltage Software.

Also coinciding with the release of the PC port of Mortal Kombat XL was a balance patch affecting most of the 33 characters in the roster in all three of the game's platforms.

[77] It became the fastest selling game in the history of the Mortal Kombat series and topped the US[97] and UK[98] PlayStation 4 sales charts in the month of release.

[82] GameSpot's Peter Brown enjoyed the overall gameplay, saying it had "the best fighting mechanics of any game in the series" but was critical of the downloadable content as "there's so much to love about the new Mortal Kombat that it's a shame to see such blatant monetization practices overlap with your experience".

[91] Nick Tan from Game Revolution commended the gameplay, particularly complimenting the character variations, environmental attacks, Brutalities, the Krypt, and the Tower system.

[90] Stephen Kleckner of VentureBeat was more critical of the game, citing in his opinion confusing move animations, a system favoring close range mid-to-high combos, having to use the block button to execute a run, poor online play, and easy Fatality DLC.