Injustice 3 released date, rumors, and all you need to know. Get over here, but wait, that’s the wrong game.
The announcement of Mortal Kombat 1, a reboot of the gruesome 1990s fighting video game series by NetherRealm Studios, has left millions of players eager to return to the genre. While this is welcome news for some, millions were waiting for Injustice 3 to be confirmed, and they have been let down. The cycle has always been one Mortal Kombat game followed by an Injustice game, and it has been that way for a decade. The history of NetherRealm suggested that the cycle would continue, but it now seems that it has been broken.
However, it’s different from NetherRealm hadn’t previously spilled the beans. If you’d kept up with the leaks regarding the studio’s upcoming game, you’d already know that “Mortal Kombat 12” was a foregone conclusion. That’s not precisely what occurred, but you get the idea.
Playing two Mortal Kombat games in a row seems needless. As a result, Injustice 3 may not be released for quite some time, but since it was officially its turn to dance in the fighting game spotlight, let’s review everything we know about the anticipated sequel.
Is Injustice 3 Even Happening?
NetherRealm Studios has not confirmed that Injustice 3 is in the works; thus, the answer is a clear negative regarding whether the game is in development. The Mortal Kombat 1 reboot is now in the works, but a sequel to the DC fighting game seems unavoidable, given the series’ popularity for the company.
Ed Boon Frequently Trolls Fans About Injustice 3
The studio’s director, the ever-jovial Ed Boon, promised fans many times that the next Injustice game was on the way, but each time, it was just after a fresh Mortal Kombat leak surfaced on the internet. Despite Ed’s lighthearted gaslighting, everything he claimed was factual.
While they’re focusing on the next Mortal Kombat game, NetherRealm is undoubtedly working on concepts for Injustice 3. And that makes sense since MK11 was the franchise’s largest launch, so it might be why the company chose a fresh installment rather than shaking things up with an Injustice game, as they have done for over a decade.
As bad as the shift in dynamic is, Ed Boon has constantly spoken with the community regarding which characters they would want to see in a future entry, so take this as a clue that Injustice 3 will be developed at some point.
Have You Watched The Injustice Movie Yet?
Injustice 2 was not the last time we visited the series. In 2021, an animated film based on the first game’s events was released. But be warned: the film is not on par with the video game. The story is hurried, and the animation isn’t spectacular, but the picture does a good job of evoking nostalgia.
One of DC’s forthcoming projects might be a sequel film based on the second game’s story. There has been no official announcement, but it would be normal if Warner Bros. decided to make a sequel picture before Injustice 3.
When’s Injustice 3 Releasing?
As you may have guessed by now, Injustice 3 has yet to a release date. Most of us were hoping that NetherRealm’s next game would be the titular sequel, but instead, it’s a soft reboot of Mortal Kombat, which releases on September 19, 2023.
It’s plausible to infer that Covid influenced development time, and if that wasn’t the case, Mortal Kombat 1 might have been released in 2022, prompting NetherRealm to focus on Injustice 3 by now. NetherRealm typically takes 2-4 years to produce a title. And the planned soft reboot of Mortal Kombat marks the longest wait for a new game from them.
Keeping this in mind, Injustice 3 should be available globally by Fall 2026. If the studio detours with an unexpected, original IP, anticipate a year’s release date to be pushed back. However, NetherRealm is producing another AAA original IP after Mortal Kombat 1 is also a possibility. They’ve only done Mortal Kombat and Injustice for so long, and most firms, such as FromSoftware and Insomniac, tend to extend their works with whole new IPs. If that happens, Injustice 3 might be delayed by almost half a decade, or maybe it’s just my paranoia speaking.
Too Many DC Games Overshadowed Injustice 3
NetherRealm’s choice to favor Mortal Kombat 1 over Injustice 3 might have been impacted by two things. First, there are the releases of Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, both developed by Rocksteady and WB Games Montréal, both subsidiaries of Warner Bros. Games, like NetherRealm. The company’s existing intellectual property (IP) may take priority in such instances.
Gotham Knights by WB. Montréal is based on Batman’s famous sidekicks, whereas Suicide Squad by Rocksteady is a continuation of the Batman: Arkham series. Both are about DC superheroes, and one was released in 2022, while Suicide Squad will follow in February 2024, after a two-year wait — hopefully.
That’s still two DC games in less than a year. I’m sure you’re beginning to see where I’m headed with this. As previously noted, NetherRealm prioritizing a Mortal Kombat soft reboot immediately after Mortal Kombat 11 seemed excessive, but executing Injustice 3 wasn’t a nice situation either.
Three AAA DC games in three years would have been too much for even the most ardent fans. So, outside of Mortal Kombat 1, what else could they do?
There’s also the Wonder Woman game in development at Monolith Productions and many others we’re not aware of yet. Injustice 3 being put on hold as a result is as fair a prediction as any. Suicide Squad will arrive in 2024, and Monolith should aim for a 2025 release date for Wonder Woman.
Two additional DC game projects are put to the backlog until 2025, implying that Injustice 3 will arrive by 2026. In any event, that’s the most accurate estimate we have at the moment. There haven’t been any leaks or speculations regarding a new Injustice game in a long time. With the Mortal Kombat reboot, Starfield, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Lords of the Fallen, and other games out this fall, everyone’s attention is elsewhere.
Things We’d Like To See In Injustice 3
By the time Injustice 3 is released, it will have been a decade since the franchise’s previous video game. At that point, wanting a few substantial modifications is the least a person could ask for, so these are the top demands that spring to mind.
Make It On Unreal Engine 5, Please
Although NetherRealm games are visually appealing, Injustice 3 should be developed on Unreal Engine 5 (UE5). The company employed a substantially customized version of the Unreal Engine 3 in Mortal Kombat 11, which is attractive graphically. That’s a wonderful engine, but not building the sequel on UE5 for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series generation of consoles would be criminal.
We have yet to get confirmation on which engine is powering the Mortal Kombat soft reboot, but it’s either the same old tweaked three or the Unreal Engine 4. I wonder if it’s UE5, and NetherRealm missing a generation seems implausible. Regardless, the studio shocks us with its work every time, and you can only imagine how enticing Injustice 3 would appear if they employed an improved engine.
Characters That Are Long Overdue
The DLC packs available for NetherRealm games are among the finest. Sometimes, it’s the Terminator appearing in the new DLC, then Hellboy, the Joker, and Sub-Zero a month later. Because Hogwarts: Legacy is so popular and Warner Bros. controls the IP, Injustice 3 is the ideal setting for a Hogwarts crossover.
I would have suggested giving us Omni-Man and Homelander, but they were released as DLC for Mortal Kombat 1. That’s strange, given they’re genuine supervillains who match the Injustice story more than Mortal Kombat. Because you can never have too much anime, Goku and Saitama are possible substitutes that spring to mind. Requests for the complete Teen Titans cast, John Constantine, Trigon, Azrael, and many more have also been received so that NetherRealm may take notice.
Mortal Kombat 1 is a tough pill to chew if you were hoping for Injustice 3, but it’s only a matter of time before we do more than talk about it. Fatalities aren’t for everyone, so if you’d rather play a DC game, Rocksteady’s forthcoming Suicide Squad IP may be precisely what you’re looking for.
