Following the release of Nightwolf in Mortal Kombat 11 on PC, datamining has revealed skins and themes for the next three seasons of the Kombat League. The files were found by Murdoink, an active member in the Mortal Kombat community who can always be counted on to reveal new and upcoming features in the game.
In his tweet, we can see all of the skins added in the Nightwolf update, which feature a variety of new and old skins from previous games in the series: Jax Briggs, Kabal, Kano, Kung Lao, Noob Saibot, Sonya and Sub-Zero all make an appearence. Some of these are right out of Mortal Kombat 3, with some color variations of our old favorites as well.
As for the skins related to Kombat League, Murdoink goes on to tweet that files were named variations of “KLeague_ChampionRank0”, of something similar, which indicates their future use as ranked rewards in seasons to come.
Season 3 – Revenant
Who better to represent the season of the Revenant than four characters all killed by Sindel in Mortal Kombat 9 and turned into tools of evil? Liu Kang, Kitana, Jade, and Kung Lao will all be seeing skins added in the third season of Kombat League. Of all the leaked skins, these look the blandest, and not much different from what is currently available. If one were not aware that these were considered part of the Kombat League, they would easily be mistaken for old skins with slightly different color options.
In Mortal Kombat X, these fallen Earthrealm warriors fell when the Outworld invasion could not be repelled. The souls were reincarnated into revenants of the Netherrealm and served their new masters without question. Of all those who have been turned to revenants, only three Earthrealm warriors are known to have been revived once again as humans: Jax Briggs, Scorpion, and Sub-Zero.
This is referenced in Mortal Kombat 11 between Jax and a slightly bitter Nightwolf:
Season 4 – Chaos
Is there anything better than cosmetic items that coincide with the spookiest of months? October should be the time we see the launch of the fourth season of the Kombat League. Black and orange mark the colors of the skins that can be gained for Cassie Cage, Sub-Zero, Noob Saibot and Frost.
The theme of the Realm of Chaos is a bit odd because Havik, the character who originates from there, has not been a playable character in the series since 2006 with Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. He has since made cameos in every subsequent game and the comic series. For the unfamiliar, the Realm of Chaos is a place where chaos reigns supreme. According to the Konquest mode for Mortal Kombat: Deception, the Orderrealm once sought to control the Chaosrealm for its resources. It is also home to the pool of aging.
Season 5 – Sorcery
The fifth season of the Kombat League seems rather peculiar as it too appears to be themed after the powerful Sorcerer Quan Chi, who is not a playable character in the game. Unless we are treated to a second Kombat Pack, this is likely to remain true for the lifespan of the game. These skins look most creative in their design, and if the developers are theming skins in a manner that sseek to replicate the fanatical cult following of Quan Chi from Mortal Kombat X, these would certainly fit the bill.
In addition to the cosmetics, several Kombat Kard backgrounds were also found in the game files, as seen in the Chaos theme below.
Mortal Kombat 11 seems committed to providing more and more cosmetic rewards through the Kombat League for the foreseeable future. This is likely to remain true until at least the end of the release of Kombat Pack 1 DLC, at which point we may see a slow down in the frequency of releases. We may also see a combination of slowing down with new content, where skins and themes are still created, but with longer seasons.
There is another possibility as well. Many players have asked if the cosmetic skins at the highest ranks will remain locked away forever for all other players. It would seem like a shame for only a select few to have these skins, especially if one is mainly limited by time rather than skill in a certain season. It would be great to see future seasons down the road reintroduce these original skins at lower ranked tiers to provide everyone with an opportunity to have them eventually. In this way, those who have earned the skins now can continue to show them off, but eventually no one would be excluded.
There is also the question of DLC characters and if skins will be added for them. So far, we have only seen skins provided for core characters to the roster at each of the ranked tiers. Will the characters who are not available to everyone will remain excluded in the future? These leaks certainly seem to indicate that only core roster characters will be included, while the likes of Shao Khan, Shang Tsung, Nightwolf, and all that follow may not ever be included since not all players have the DLC content.
That would certainly be disappointing for some, and it would be great to see additional skins added to the Kombat League rewards that can be earned if those DLC fighters have been unlocked. These of course are minor issues, as overall the Kombat League rewards have been, and look to continue to be, quite good.