Mortal Kombat 1 tops 4 million copies sold: how it compares to Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8

Mortal Kombat 1 has now sold over 4 million units globally, Warner Bros. Games announced in a press release. The game is available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch, but it is unclear how the figures are split between platforms.

Last November, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav told investors that MK1 has sold nearly 3 million copies in less than two months since its September 19 launch. The title officially reached the 3 million mark in January 2024. This means it took Mortal Kombat 1 about seven months to sell another 1 million copies.

MK11 remains the best-selling entry in the series, with over 15 million copies sold globally (as of October 2022), followed by Mortal Kombat X (over 12 million units sold as of March 2019). The franchise’s total sales have surpassed 80 million units.

Mortal Kombat 1 launched right between its two major rivals, Street Fighter 6 (June 2, 2023) and Tekken 8 (January 25, 2024). SF6 surpassed 1 million players in its first three days, with its life-to-date sales amounting to 3.7 million units (as of June 30, 2024). Tekken 8 sold 2 million copies globally in its first month.

Despite its commercial success, Mortal Kombat 1 attracted huge criticism from core players due to its certain mechanics, balance, and post-launch support. The game currently holds a “Mostly Positive” (71% positive) rating on Steam based on 18.9k reviews, with recent reviews dropping to “Mixed” (66%).

Many users criticize MK1 for its netcode, poor content support, and monetization, calling some of its skins and microtransactions “outrageous.”

In September, NetherRealm will launch the Khaos Reigns expansion, which costs $50 and includes a story DLC and a new Kombat Pack. Interestingly, Warner Bros. has just reduced the base game’s price from $70 to $50. All these schemes also do not add to MK1’s approval among the audience.