NetherRealm Studios’ Mortal Kombat 1 just hit 8 million copies sold, a notable jump from the 6.2 million reported back in August 2025—and it did it despite the studio winding down major post-launch support nearly a year ago. It’s a clear reminder that even a divisive entry in a legendary fighting game franchise can keep moving units long after the hype cycle cools.
At the same time, the wider industry is seeing co-op specialists Hazelight Studios rack up a staggering 50+ million total sales across A Way Out, It Takes Two, and Split Fiction—a useful contrast in how very different genres (and very different post-launch strategies) can still produce blockbuster results.
What We Know: 8 Million Sold, Long Tail Still Strong
The headline number is simple: Mortal Kombat 1 has sold 8 million copies. What matters is the context. This is a game that, by NetherRealm’s own actions, has already moved past the “live content treadmill” phase—content updates ended and the studio signaled it would not be continuing with additional DLC characters beyond what was already planned.
And yet, the sales needle keeps climbing.
That’s the part that should make publishers and genre-watchers sit up: fighting games have historically been hit-driven, with a steep drop after launch unless esports momentum, constant balance updates, or a steady DLC pipeline keeps the conversation alive. Mortal Kombat 1 is showing the other path still works—brand power, evergreen visibility, and the gravitational pull of a franchise that’s basically a pop-culture institution at this point.
It’s also a meaningful increase in a relatively short window. Going from 6.2 million in August 2025 to 8 million now is not a rounding error; it’s a real chunk of additional audience arriving after the game’s post-launch “moment” had already started to fade.
How It Stacks Up: MK11 Still the Titan, But MK1 Remains a Heavyweight
Let’s not pretend this automatically crowns Mortal Kombat 1 as the series’ commercial king. It doesn’t. Mortal Kombat 11 remains the monster success story, sitting at over 15 million copies sold (as of 2022).
That comparison matters for two reasons:
- It sets expectations. Mortal Kombat is one of the few fighting franchises that can flirt with mainstream, blockbuster-scale numbers. When the previous entry is north of 15 million, anything below that can feel “less than,” even if it’s still outselling most of the genre.
- It frames MK1’s legacy. The conversation around Mortal Kombat 1 hasn’t been universally rosy, and it hasn’t been “remembered as fondly” as some fans hoped. But sales don’t care about vibes in the way social media does. Eight million is still eight million.
And in the broader fighting game landscape, Mortal Kombat 1 remains firmly in the top tier of modern success stories. The closest direct competitor mentioned in the same breath is Street Fighter 6, which has sold over six million units as of November 2025. That’s not a knock on Capcom—those are excellent numbers for a fighting game. It’s a reminder that Mortal Kombat continues to operate at a scale most of the genre would kill for.
The Final Stretch of Content: T-1000, Madam Bo, and a Hidden Fighter Named Floyd
Before NetherRealm closed the book on major content updates, it still managed to leave Mortal Kombat 1 with a few memorable punctuation marks.
The most headline-grabbing was T-1000 from Terminator 2 arriving as a playable character—one of those crossover picks that feels engineered in a lab to generate trailer views. Love or hate guest characters, Mortal Kombat has turned them into a signature move, and T-1000 is exactly the kind of “oh, they actually did it” addition that keeps the game in the public eye.
Then there’s Madam Bo, added as the final Kameo Fighter, which reportedly landed with a positive reaction. Kameos were one of MK1’s defining mechanical swings, and ending that pipeline on a high note matters—especially for a game whose long-term reputation will be shaped by what it left behind as much as what it launched with.
And finally: Floyd, described as a hidden fighter and a clear reference to Pink Floyd. Hidden characters are an old-school fighting game tradition, and it’s the kind of deep-cut inclusion that doesn’t necessarily sell millions by itself—but it does feed the community’s appetite for secrets, labbing, and “did you know?” discovery culture.
Why This Matters: Fighting Games Don’t Need to Be Live Forever to Keep Selling
Here’s the takeaway I can’t shake: Mortal Kombat 1 hitting 8 million after content support has largely ended is a strong argument that not every fighting game needs to chase an endless-service model to be financially meaningful.
Yes, ongoing DLC can extend a game’s relevance. Yes, constant updates can keep competitive communities engaged. But MK1’s sales trajectory suggests there’s still a huge audience that buys fighting games on their own timeline—during discounts, after seeing a character they recognize, when a new console arrives, or simply when they’re ready.
It also reinforces something NetherRealm has always understood better than most: Mortal Kombat is a mainstream entertainment brand, not just a competitive fighting game. The franchise’s reach extends beyond tournament brackets into casual play, story mode curiosity, and the sheer novelty of its characters and spectacle.
The Other Big Sales Story This Week: Hazelight Crosses 50 Million Total Copies
While Mortal Kombat 1 is celebrating a major milestone, it’s not the only sales headline lighting up the industry right now.
Hazelight Studios—the co-op-focused developer led by director Josef Fares—announced it has now sold over 50 million copies across its three games:
- A Way Out: 13 million
- It Takes Two: 30 million
- Split Fiction: 7 million
Hazelight summed it up in a statement posted on X: “We’re stunned and amazed how many fans have enjoyed our games. Your love and support keeps us going and we can’t wait to show you our fourth game.”
The breakdown is the real story. It Takes Two absolutely dominates with 30 million—a number that puts it in a rare tier for modern games, period, not just co-op titles. Meanwhile, Split Fiction has reached 7 million in just over a year since its March 2025 launch, and A Way Out continues to prove it has serious legs at 13 million.
Hazelight also teased it’s working on a fourth game, but details beyond that haven’t been officially laid out.
What’s Next for NetherRealm?
NetherRealm is already “busy with its next project,” but there’s been no indication of what it actually is. The rumor mill has pointed toward Injustice 3—a potential return to the DC-based fighting series, whose last entry launched in January 2017—but as of now, no official announcement has been made.
And that’s the tension point: Mortal Kombat 1 is still selling, but NetherRealm’s future direction is the real looming question. Do they double down on Mortal Kombat again? Do they pivot back to Injustice? Do they surprise everyone with something else entirely?
For the moment, all we can say with confidence is that Mortal Kombat 1 continues to perform commercially—and NetherRealm has earned the luxury of taking its next swing on its own terms.
What Remains Unknown
- Which platforms the 8 million figure is broken down across (no official split has been detailed).
- Whether NetherRealm has any plans for additional patches or smaller-scale support beyond the previously stated end of content updates.
- NetherRealm’s next game reveal timing and what the project actually is (including whether Injustice 3 is real or just persistent speculation).
- Any updated, official sales figure for Mortal Kombat 11 beyond the “over 15 million as of 2022” benchmark.
