Time for a reboot (pic: WB Games)

NetherRealm isn’t even trying to be subtle about it now, as their new teaser makes it obvious that the new game is starting from scratch.

It may have been announced in the most boring way possible but thankfully Warner Bros. is putting a bit more effort into the build-up for the public unveiling of Mortal Kombat 12.

Officially, we don’t know anything other than it’s out this year but the last teaser for Mortal Kombat 12 seemed to imply it was going to be a series reboot and now a second video makes that even more obvious.

The video shows a clock ticking round and once the hand passes 11 it suddenly skips past twelve and goes straight to 1, implying that the new game will not be a direct sequel but will instead reset the franchise’s storyline.

Some fans have pointed out that this could mean the new game is a remake, but remakes don’t really make sense with fighting games and a reboot is exactly what you’d expect given how the story went in Mortal Kombat 11 and the Aftermath DLC.

At the end of the good ending in Aftermath, Liu Kang gets control of Kronika’s Hourglass, which he says he’s going to use to create a ‘New Era.’

In that sense Mortal Kombat 12 can be both a reboot and a direct sequel, but it seems clear that developer NetherRealm want to sweep the slate clean at this point.

What this means for returning characters, or indeed the gameplay, is unclear but the teasers also suggest that a full reveal is imminent – if not in the next week or so then at one of the not-E3 preview showcases in June.

Series fans will know that 2011’s Mortal Kombat was also a reboot, to the point where it didn’t have a number after its name and it’s only retroactively known as Mortal Kombat 9.

However, it still hung on to elements of the continuity from the first three games, creating an alternative timeline, so it’s going to be interesting to see if Mortal Kombat 12 really is a completely fresh start.

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MORE : Mortal Kombat 11 won’t start until you watch an ad for Hogwarts Legacy

MORE : First Mortal Kombat 12 teaser hints at full reboot via a grain of sand

MORE : Mortal Kombat 12 has most boring game announcement ever – out this year

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NetherRealm isn’t even trying to be subtle about it now, as their new teaser makes it obvious that the new game is starting from scratch.