NetherRealm is shutting down free-to-play mobile game Mortal Kombat: Onslaught
Just a year after launch.
Developer NetherRealm has pulled the plug on its free-to-play mobile game Mortal Kombat: Onslaught, just days after the studio reportedly laid off its entire mobile team.
Mortal Kombat: Onslaught, a character-collecting RPG featuring faces from across the fighting series, was announced in October 2022 and arrived almost exactly one year later. It promised a "mobile-exclusive" story and "massive real-time group battles" for up to ten fighters.
Nine months on, however, and Onslaught is officially shutting down. NetherRealm announced the news on Twitter/X, writing, "We are sorry to inform you that Mortal Kombat: Onslaught will close its operations in October. It has been an honour creating this game for our Kommunity, and we appreciate the enthusiasm from our fans."
Onslaught will be pulled from iOS and Android stores today, 22nd July, but in-app purchases will continue until 23rd August. The game will be playable until 21st October this year.
News of Mortal Kombat: Onslaught's impending closure comes after claims from NetherRealm employees last week that the studio's mobile division had been laid off. At the time, it was noted the team was responsible for live service operations on three games - Mortal Kombat Mobile, Injustice 2, and Mortal Kombat: Onslaught - and while NetherRealm is yet to comment on the job cuts, it did move quickly to assure Mortal Kombat Mobile players the game would "continue operations and have full support."
Those layoffs followed parent company Warner Bros. Discovery's admission in February it was bracing for a "tough year", after it revealed sales of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League had failed to meet its expectations. The cuts appear to be a part of wider job losses at the company, but the decision to lay off NetherRealm's mobile team is perhaps surprising given Warner Bros' announcement in March it would shifting its focus to mobile, free-to-play, and live-service titles to combat what it called the "volatile" AAA market.