NetherRealm Studios (2010)
Pioneers of Cinematic Fighting Games, Mortal Kombat, and Injustice
Established in 2010 in Chicago under Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment by Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon and the veteran Midway Chicago development team, NetherRealm Studios revolutionized fighting games. Setting the gold standard for full-length cinematic story modes, the studio has sold over 80 million fighting games across Mortal Kombat and Injustice.
Rising from Midway to Reinvent Fighting Campaigns
Following Midway's bankruptcy, Warner Bros. acquired the studio assets and established NetherRealm Studios under Ed Boon. Their soft reboot Mortal Kombat (2011) shocked the fighting game community with an elaborate, four-hour cinematic narrative that transitioned seamlessly into 2D fights, forcing competitors like Street Fighter and Tekken to adopt full story campaigns.
Injustice Multiverse and Commercial Dominance
Partnering with DC Comics, NetherRealm created Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013) and Injustice 2 (2017), exploring an alternate universe where Superman becomes a tyrant. Mortal Kombat 11 (2019) became the best-selling entry in the entire franchise surpassing 15 million copies, establishing NetherRealm as the most commercially dominant fighting studio in North America.