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YouTube TV could lose Fox channels this week
Gaming Gear

NBCUniversal’s new YouTube TV deal includes some shows on YouTube

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They didn’t reveal the dollars involved, but a press release mentions that it includes an agreement for some full TV shows, clips, and highlights on regular YouTube, as well as confirming the relaunch of NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) after it shut down four years ago.

“We’ve secured long-term access to our full portfolio of broadcast and cable networks on YouTube TV, and we’re advancing our Peacock strategy with an upcoming launch on YouTube Primetime Channels and ongoing presence on Google TV,” said NBCUniversal exec Matt Schnaars.

The details revealed today are:

As Awful Announcing points out, while NBCUniversal has been snapping up sports broadcast rights for Peacock, relaunching the NBCSN channel to put it in subscription packages could let it make money from people who don’t sign up for Peacock after it spins off its other cable networks with Versant.



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More action than RPG, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 struggles to convince after a few hours' play
Game Updates

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 voice cast revealed, includes Returnal’s Jane Perry and Still Wakes the Deep’s Alec Newman

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Paradox and The Chinese Room have revealed the voice cast performing in Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, the action role-playing game which is barely a month away now. The game releases on 21st October.

The actors for all major and notable characters have been named, and feature the likes of Jane Perry, known for her BAFTA-winning performance in Returnal, and Alec Newman, who won a BAFTA this year for his performance in Still Wakes the Deep.

Watch on YouTube

The full list of names given in the trailer are:

  • Female Phyre (the player character): Tommy Sim’aan
  • Male Phyre (the player character): Hara Yannas
  • Fabien: Ronan Summers
  • Lou Graham: Jane Perry
  • Michael “Tolly” Tolliver: David Menkin
  • Safia Ulusoy: Amrita Acharia
  • Ryong Choi: Kae Alexander
  • Katsumi Ishizaka: Elizabeth Chan
  • Ysabella Moore: Joan Iyola
  • Fletcher: Rufus Wright
  • Mrs. Amelia Thorn: Bethan Dixon Bate
  • Simeon “Silky” Ladock: Alan Turkington
  • Niko Angelov: Martin Razpopov
  • Patience Boswell: Billy Peck
  • Onda Cardoso: Jamilya Ocasio
  • Max Webber: Osy Ikhile
  • Willem Axel: Richard Brake
  • Benny Muldoon: Patrick O’Kane
  • Bet of Night: Amanda Huddleston
  • Gideon Hall: Alec Newman

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has had a turbulent development and a rocky road to release, courtesy of questionable paid-DLC plans that were subsequently reversed (the playable clans that were going to be charged for are now included in the base game) and an unconvincing preview showing.

For all it might lack the RPG depth that followers of the Bloodlines series might want, and that players of the tabletop Vampire: The Masquerade game might want, Bloodlines 2 does appear to have good production values and strong cinematic character performances. Let’s hope it turns okay.



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Electronic Arts
Product Reviews

EA is reportedly about to be sold in a record-setting $50 billion buyout to an investor group that includes private equity and Saudi Arabia

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As reported by the The Wall Street Journal, gaming giant EA is set to go private⁠—that is, no longer be traded on the stock market⁠—in a $50 billion deal with an investor group. This would be the largest such leveraged buyout ever recorded.

According to the WSJ’s anonymous sources, EA could be sold for as much as $50 billion, though the final price has not yet been agreed on, and EA has an estimated market value of $43 billion. The group of investors reportedly includes the private equity firm Silver Lake and the government of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

The deal could be announced as early as next week, and would be the largest leveraged buyout ever recorded. A leveraged buyout is when a private equity firm uses a significant amount of borrowed money to seal the deal, with the asset set to be acquired used as collateral in the debt.


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This effectively leaves the acquired company liable for the debt⁠—if its income can’t adequately service the debt, it will bear the consequences of a default, not the investors who made the purchase, and that usually means closures and layoffs. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, one such leveraged buyout eventually resulted in bankruptcy and closure for the once-ubiquitous toy retailer, Toys R Us.

The fact that the reported cost of the deal—up to $50 billion—is close to EA’s estimated value (what’s $7 billion between friends?) could give reason for optimism that EA’s debt burden would be proportional to its means. Even aside from eventual bankruptcy, though, there’s precedent for acquisitions like this causing massive disruptions to the company: Microsoft cut 1,900 jobs at Xbox in January 2024 shortly after its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, and Blizzard Entertainment was heavily affected in particular.

The other known quantity in the purported deal, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, has been making inroads in games for several years as part of a multifaceted push into global media and entertainment. This has included:

Critics of the Saudi Arabian government have called this practice “sportswashing,” or using a growing influence and ubiquity in the entertainment industries to distract from the government’s human rights record.

EA, much like its competitor Ubisoft, has struggled in recent years. Once formidable titans, both have been left behind as consolidation efforts have turned Microsoft and Sony into unassailable super heavyweights. At the same time, smaller publishers like DreadXP, Devolver, and Playstack have become ubiquitous at the other end of the budget spectrum.

EA lost the lucrative FIFA license, leading to its new, genericized EA FC series. Beloved RPG developer BioWare was sharply downsized after Dragon Age: The Veilguard proved a relative sales failure. The impending release of Battlefield 6, which has seen massive beta numbers and a positive critical reception, is looking like a much-needed win for the company.

Should the deal go through, here are some of the major studios and games that could be affected:

  • BioWare: Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
  • Respawn: Titanfall, Apex Legends, the Star Wars: Jedi series.
  • DICE (and the other ‘Battlefield Studios’): Battlefield and Mirror’s Edge
  • Maxis: The Sims 4 and Project Rene.
  • The Madden NFL and EA Sports College Football series (and other EA Sports games).
  • The dormant Dead Space and Need for Speed series.
  • The once-dormant Skate, recently resurrected.
  • The Command & Conquer series.
  • The Origin Systems back catalogue, including Ultima and Wing Commander. Pepperidge Farm remembers.



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Hades 2 Physical Edition For Switch 2 Includes Full Game On Card
Game Updates

Hades 2 Physical Edition For Switch 2 Includes Full Game On Card

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Hades 2’s physical edition is published by Nintendo, so the full game and upgrade pack are included on cartridge. It comes in a Nintendo Switch 2 case, but the game card will also work on original Switch, Switch OLED, and Switch Lite. The Switch 2-branded version is the only physical edition of Hades II for Nintendo consoles.

On Nintendo Switch 2, Hades II is rendered in 1080p at 120fps. Handheld mode also runs in 1080p resolution at 60fps. On original Switch, Hades II will run in 720p at 60fps. If you already have an early access save file on PC, you will be able to transfer it to your Nintendo console.

The digital edition is $30 on Switch or Switch 2, and the upgrade pack is free.



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Hornet from Silksong stares up in the mosslands area
Gaming Gear

Hollow Knight: Silksong Includes a Secret Konami Code Easter Egg

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Hollow Knight: Silksong isn’t an easy game, but that difficulty is one of the reasons why fans love it. There are likely some in the fanbase who might even feel it’s too easy, and for them, developer Team Cherry added the most famous of cheat codes to the game, although it doesn’t give you 30 lives. 

The famous Konami Code, best known for its inclusion in the NES game Contra, does work in Silksong, but it will make the game far harder, not easier. The secret was found not long after the game came out on Thursday over at the Silksong subreddit. A variation of the code can be inputted in the Extras section of the title screen to unlock the Steel Soul mode on a new playthrough. The description of the unlocked mode says, “No reviving. Death is permanent.” 

The secret Steel Soul mode is not for the faint of heart. 

Screenshot by Oscar Gonzalez/CNET

As the description suggests, Steel Soul is a permadeath mode, meaning that once you die, it’s game over and your save is wiped. Considering how difficult Silksong has been even for veterans of the Hollow Knight, this option is truly for those who want the highest of challenges. It appeared in the original Hollow Knight as an optional setting made available after beating the game, but Silksong players just need to press a few buttons on the menu screen to unlock it.

The code needed to unlock Steel Mode in the Extras section of the title screen is Up, Down, Up, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right. For consoles, you will need to use the respective controller’s Dpad, while PC requires either using a controller Dpad or the arrow keys on the keyboard. There are no additional buttons to press, and when inputted correctly, the screen will flash. To activate the new much harder difficulty option, back out of the Extras screen, select Start Game, pick New Game and that will take you to the Mode Select screen where Steel Soul is now available. 

The Konami Code was first used in Gradius, a shoot ’em up game made by the company and released for the NES in 1986. The full code is Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, and Start on a controller and was programmed into the game’s code by developer Kazuhisa Hashimoto as a way to test the game easily, as it added all the power-ups to the player’s ship. Hashimoto had mistakenly left the code in the NES game, and it was eventually discovered by players in the U.S. 

The Konami Code is mainly remembered for its use in 1987’s Contra for the NES, which gave players 30 lives to start the game with. It has since been used in other Konami games and paid homage to by other game developers. Tech companies such as Google and Facebook have also used the code as an Easter egg in their different services over the years. 

Hollow Knight: Silksong is out now on PC, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, PS4 and PS5. It’s also available for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. 



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Geekom GeekBook X14 Pro
Gaming Gear

Geekom’s 14-inch GeekBook X14 Pro laptop weighs just 2.2 pounds and includes a Core Ultra 9 processor

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  • Geekom GeekBook X14 Pro laptop features Core Ultra 9 processor with Intel Arc 140T graphics
  • The 14-inch ultraportable weighs 999g thanks to its magnesium alloy chassis
  • Specs include 32GB RAM, 1TB NVMe storage, USB4 ports, and 70Wh battery

Geekom has revealed a number of new products at IFA 2025, but while the Chinese manufacturer is best known for its mini PCs, French news site MiniMachines says it will also be using the event to also show off its ultrathin GeekBook X14 Pro business laptop.

The notebook measures 1.69cm x 31.17cm x 21.54cm and has a magnesium and aluminum alloy chassis, which helps keep the weight down to 999g (2.2 pounds).

The X14 Pro’s 14-inch OLED panel has a 2800 x 1880 resolution with a 16:10 aspect ratio and promises full coverage of the DCI-P3 color space.

Choice of processors

Geekom will reportedly offer two versions, one with an Arrow Lake Core Ultra 5 225H and Intel Arc 130T graphics, and another with the Core Ultra 9 285H paired with an Arc 140T GPU.

It will come with up to 32GB of LPDDR5-7500 RAM, and a 1TB NVMe Gen4 x4 SSD.

The laptop is limited to a maximum TDP of 35 watts, with Geekom saying the cooling design aims to keep the system efficient and quiet under load.

The GeekBook X14 Pro also features a 2MP webcam with a privacy shutter, a fingerprint reader built into the power button, and stereo speakers with DTS:X Ultra.


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There’s a 78-key backlit keyboard and a large touchpad, and connectivity includes HDMI 2.0, two USB4 ports, one USB 3.2 Type-A port, and a 3.5mm combo jack. It supports WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4.

There’s a 70Wh battery that can be charged through USB Type-C with a 65W GaN charger.

Alongside the smaller model, Geekom is reportedly also announcing the GeekBook X16 Pro – a larger 16-inch version measures 35.45cm x 24.94cm x 1.19cm and has a 2560 x 1600 IPS display with full sRGB coverage. There’s space for dual NVMe drives, and its keyboard expands to 98 keys with a dedicated numeric pad.

No release date or pricing has been made available for either laptop yet, although more details are expected soon.

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Walmart's Lego Disney Pixar Bundle Includes Brand-New WALL-E And EVE Set
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Walmart’s Lego Disney Pixar Bundle Includes Brand-New WALL-E And EVE Set

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Lego’s adorable new building set based on Disney Pixar’s beloved 2008 animated movie WALL-E is now available at major retailers, including Walmart and Amazon, and the Lego Store. The 811-piece model features buildable WALL-E, EVE, and M-O figures as well as Hal, the last plant on Earth, and a Garbage Cube. It’s perhaps a coincidence, but the launch of the new set coincides with a limited-time deal on WALL-E’s wonderful Criterion Collection 4K Blu-ray edition.

Pixar fans who don’t already own Lego’s 598-piece recreation of the Up House should check out Walmart’s Lego Pixar bundle deal before purchasing the new WALL-E set. Walmart has WALL-E and EVE bundled with the Up House for $95, which means you’re only spending $25 on the Up House. The Disney Pixar 2-in-1 Bundle is just one of over a dozen Lego bundle deals you’ll find exclusively at Walmart as part of the retailer’s Bricktember Sale. We wouldn’t expect this particular bundle to remain in stock for long.

WALL-E and EVE 43279 (Lego Disney Pixar)

The surprise return of WALL-E is welcome news for Pixar fans who love Lego–and paying retail prices for Lego sets. Back in 2015, WALL-E the robot made its brick-set debut in the Lego Ideas line. The 677-piece set retailed for $60 and was officially retired about a year later. Since then, the value of Lego Ideas WALL-E (21303) has skyrocketed. Today, a brand-new set is valued at just shy of $350. Even preowned sets that are already assembled can pull in $200, according to Brick Economy, a great resource that tracks online marketplace sales. And it’s not just one sale every couple of months; there are dozens of completed over the past few weeks.

So, if you’ve ever considered paying hundreds of dollars for Lego WALL-E, now you can get WALL-E, EVE, M-O, and more for $70 instead. Ironically, the value of the old WALL-E Lego set has only increased in recent weeks. The WALL-E robot in the old set is a bit larger than the new one, but the new model looks more realistic, which isn’t surprising since Lego continues to refine its engineering and design processes as time goes on.

Let’s take a closer look at the adorable upcoming WALL-E Lego set.

$70 | 811 Pieces

Lego’s store page for WALL-E and EVE doesn’t list dimensions for each buildable figure, but we know that WALL-E is over five inches tall. The EVE figure looks to be about an inch or two taller. WALL-E’s yellow body has a rusted, grimy look–the original looked freshly cleaned–which means the buildable M-O figure will probably try to clean the adorable little garbage collector with his spinning brush.

All three robots have movable arms and heads. WALL-E has functional wheels, so he can perform his duties collecting and compacting trash. The openable hatch on his chest has a compartment for a brick-built Garbage Cube. WALL-E’s pet cockroach Hal is built from a handful of bricks and can rest on the robot’s shoulder.

You can also recreate the scene where WALL-E shows EVE the plant he found. The set comes with a small buildable boot holding the tiny plant EVE protects and nurtures by storing it in her chest cavity.

WALL-E and EVE each have storage compartments

$95 (was $130) | Walmart Bricktember Exclusive Bundle

The Walmart-exclusive Bricktember bundle saves you $35 compared to the combined retail prices of WALL-E and EVE and the 598-piece Up House. That said, Walmart is currently selling the Up House for $38.49 (was $60), which means the discount shrinks to $13.49 based on today’s prices.

The Up House has been discounted to slightly below $30 before, but it usually sells out fast. Walmart’s bundle deal lets Pixar fans get the Up House for only $25.

Lego says the 811-piece build employs “advanced construction techniques,” which explains why this set is part of Lego’s adult lineup. These techniques are likely related to WALL-E’s gear and wheel systems. Plus, WALL-E has always been one of the most “for adults” Pixar films due to its filmmaking stylistic choices and heavy themes. With few spoken lines of dialogue, the 2008 animated movie pays homage to the era of silent films. WALL-E uses expressive characters, striking set pieces, and clever camera techniques to deliver a cautionary tale about the destruction of our environment, technology dependence, consumerism, loneliness, and other prescient themes.

Save on WALL-E’s Criterion Collection 4K Blu-ray Edition

WALL-E: The Criterion Collection (4K Blu-ray)

If you want to revisit the film while building the new Lego set, WALL-E has two different 4K Blu-ray editions. Notably, WALL-E is the only Pixar movie in The Criterion Collection. Fans can get WALL-E’s Criterion Collection 4K Blu-ray edition for only $31.46 (was $50) at Walmart and Amazon. This is a limited-time deal, but it’s unclear when it ends. Released in 2022, the three-disc set has nearly four hours of special features and is packaged in a display-worthy case with original art and a booklet with sketches, commentary, script notes, and more cool behind-the-scenes content. The Criterion Collection version was approved by director Andrew Stanton and supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+. The original Disney 4K Blu-ray edition also comes with three discs, but it doesn’t have as many special features and is limited to HDR10. It’s still a great way to watch WALL-E, but the Criterion version is the definitive physical edition.

WALL-E and EVE are also featured in Lego’s BrickHeadz figure series. Released in 2023, the 155-piece WALL-E and EVE BrickHeadz bundle is $15 and exclusive to the Lego Store.

Lego brick-built M-O, Hal, the boot plant, and Garbage Cube

More Disney Pixar Lego Sets

Adult Pixar fans should also check out the recently released Luxo Jr. Lego set. This 613-piece model lets nostalgic Pixar enthusiasts build the iconic studio mascot and the colorful ball he hops on to form the production logo you see before each movie. Part of the Lego Ideas series, Luxo Jr. launched in June for $70. Lego also launched a cute Toy Story Celebration Train & RC Car set for younger Pixar fans in June.

Neither of those two newer Pixar Lego sets have received discounts yet, but along with the aforementioned Up House, Walmart has Lego’s Inside Out 2 Mood Cubes for an all-time low price of $24.48. Check out Walmart’s Bricktember Sale for discounts on more Disney Lego sets.



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Google’s Pixel Care Plus includes free screen and battery repair
Gaming Gear

Google’s Pixel Care Plus includes free screen and battery repair

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Google is phasing out its Preferred Care extended warranty plan for the Pixel Care Plus program. Pricing between the two is pretty similar. You’ll still pay $8 per-month, or $159 for a two-year plan on a Pixel 9. For a Pixel 10 Pro Fold, that jumps up to $339 for two years, or $18 per-month, with the optional loss and theft package for a small extra charge.

The big changes here are that screen and battery repairs are free, and service fees for other accidental damage are much lower. Under the old Preferred Care program, replacing a cracked screen would run you $29. Under Pixel Care Plus a cracked front screen or battery running at under 80-percent capacity will get swapped out for $0. Unfortunately, if you happen to mess up the internal screen on your 10 Pro Fold, you are not covered.

Other accidental damage fees vary depending on model, ranging from $49 on some older models like the Pixel 8a and 9a, to $99 on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. On average they’re lower though, with service fees reaching $129 for the Pixel 9 Pro and Fold models. The new loss and theft option, which adds $1 or $2 a month to the plan, also varies per model with deductibles ranging up to $149 on the high end.

The new plans bring Google more inline with the likes of Samsung, which ditched screen replacement fees under its new extended coverage plans back in January.



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The Next Game Informer Issue Includes A Double-Sided Phantom Blade Zero Poster
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The Next Game Informer Issue Includes A Double-Sided Phantom Blade Zero Poster

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For years, a lot of China’s video game development has happened in the realm of mobile games or as outsourced developers for studios elsewhere in the world. But there’s been a shift happening – with big releases like last year’s Black Myth: Wukong and plenty more, Chinese developers are aiming for new audiences around the world and seeing massive success. After visiting S-Game’s Beijing, China, studio last month to check out hours of its upcoming “kung fu punk” action game, Phantom Blade Zero, I’m feeling pretty confident it’s going to be the country’s next big video game hit. 

In our newly announced Game Informer issue, featuring Ninja Gaiden 4 – read about that cover reveal here – I wrote eight pages about Phantom Blade Zero, my time in Beijing, China, playing the game and speaking with the game’s director, and even about my attempt at becoming a kung fu master in S-Game’s Shanghai-based mocap studio (it’s not in the cards for me). But that’s not all the Phantom Blade Zero in this issue: each copy includes a double-sided Phantom Blade Zero poster!!!

Check out the poster that comes with your issue – at no additional charge, of course – below: 

If you haven’t subscribed yet, don’t worry because there’s still time! Subscribe today by clicking the button below to get this issue, including the Phantom Blade Zero poster, in your mailbox 4 to 6 weeks after you order!

Subscribe now



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Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection’s Full Roster Includes Mythologies Sub-Zero And Special Forces
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Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection’s Full Roster Includes Mythologies Sub-Zero And Special Forces

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Digital Eclipse has revealed the full roster of games for its retrospective compilation/interactive documentary, Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection. This update reveals that the infamously terrible single-player spin-off titles Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces will be part of the bundle.

Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero launched for the original PlayStation and Nintendo 64 in 1997 and is a side-scrolling action game starring the titular ice ninja (specifically Bi-Han, the first Sub-Zero and eventual Noob Saibot). Spoiler: It’s a very bad game, but it is notable for featuring the series debuts for staple fighters Quan Chi and Shinnok. You can watch former GI editors (including Giant Bomb’s Dan Ryckert) suffer through this game in this classic 2010 episode of Replay, posted below.

 

Mortal Kombat: Special Forces was released in 2000, also for PlayStation 1, and is a 3D action game starring Jax. The game sees him taking on Kano and his crew of baddies, including the debuting Tremor, who would later resurface as a DLC fighter in Mortal Kombat X. Special Forces didn’t exactly light the world on fire; that’s a nice way of saying it’s also terrible. It does have a very funny and strange ‘70s spy-themed intro cinematic going for it, though.

Digital Eclipse also announced that the extremely rare WaveNet Arcade version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is part of the Kollection. This version was originally made to support Midway’s WaveNet online matchmaking service for arcades, and has not been available on any platform since 1997. It’s also the only arcade release to feature Noob Saibot as a playable fighter. 

Check out the Kollection’s new trailer from Gamescom below. 

 

Here is the full list of titles in the Kollection:

  • Mortal Kombat – 1992 (Arcade, SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear)
  • Mortal Kombat II – 1993 (Arcade, SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, 32X)
  • Mortal Kombat 3 – 1995 (Arcade, SNES, Genesis)
  • Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 – 1995 (Arcade, WaveNet Arcade, SNES)
  • Mortal Kombat Trilogy – 1996 (PlayStation)
  • Mortal Kombat 4 – 1997 (Arcade)
  • Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero – 1997 (PlayStation)
  • Mortal Kombat Special Forces – 2000 (PlayStation)
  • Mortal Kombat Advance – 2001 (Game Boy Advance)
  • Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance – 2002 (Game Boy Advance)
  • Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition – 2003 (Game Boy Advance)

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection launches later this year for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. 



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