In a sudden and surprising move, publisher Warner Bros. has removedMortal Kombat: Komplete Editionfrom Steam as of March 21. The news broke Sunday morning without fanfare or meaningful comment. TheMortal Kombat: Komplete Editionwas simply there and then it wasn’t, with a simple notice that it had been removed at the behest of its publisher. Those who own theMortal Kombat: Komplete Editionwill retain it in their libraries, but no one can buy it until it’s relisted.
TheMortal Kombat: Komplete Editionis a repackage of the 2011 reboot of theMortal Kombatfranchise byNetherRealm Studios. It’s also known asMortal Kombat 9within the fighting game community. The Komplete Edition bundles in all ofMortal Kombat’s post-launch premium DLC, including fighters Skarlet, Kenshi, Rain, and Freddy Krueger. There are also 15 Klassic cosmetic skins and 3 Klassic fatalities. A far cry from the dozens of skins and cosmetics inMortal Kombat 11.
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There’s no provided reason for why theMortal Kombat: Komplete Editionhas been removed fromSteam. However, there is some speculation within the community. Many believe that the reason for its removal is due to the inclusion of Freddy Krueger as a fighter. Freddy Krueger was owned by a Warner Bros. subsidiary whenMortal Kombatwas initially released. However, the license went back to its original owner just six months ago.
If the Freddy Krueger license was not extended toWarner Bros.again, or if Warner Bros. wasn’t willing to pay to extend the license, then the game would have to be removed from sale. It would have to be removed from all storefronts, too, but it remains available on at least the PlayStation store. Perhaps that will change next week.
Warner Bros. could, if it isn’t willing to relicense the character, rerelease the original version ofMortal Kombaton storefronts. Since the base game doesn’t get bundled withFreddy Krueger, that might be a loophole.
Regardless of whyMortal Kombat: Komplete Editionwasremoved from Steamor what happens next, it’s always disappointing to see happen. Licensing issues that crop up years later, whether they’re tied to characters or music, only serve to hurt gamers and preservation efforts. One way or another,Mortal Kombat: Komplete Editionwill hopefully be made available on Steam once more.
Mortal Kombatlaunched in 2011 for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
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