Summary
Just like any other part of the entertainment industry, video game marketing is often a complex and expensive beast. While word of mouth is still one of the best forms of video game marketing, bigAAA video game releasescan’t rely on that alone to make their money back, and that’s where trailers, convention appearances, and big announcement livestreams come into play. Big games demand a lot of attention, and though many titles have obviously had successful marketing campaigns,Mortal Kombat 1might end up setting a new precedent, at least for the fighting game genre.
Though it may not necessarily be true, fighting games are often considered to be some of the more simplistic video games out there. While they may have a slew of different modes and various mechanical complexities, general audiences often boil down fighting games to just their basic gameplay formula, and assume that it repeats itself over and over. This has led to some pretty barebones marketing, with even the most popular franchises releasing just a trailer or two before launch.Mortal Kombat 1, however, has decided to go above and beyond with its own marketing, and it looks as though it’s going to pay off.
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Mortal Kombat 1’s Marketing Strategy Should Set the Precedent
In the past, theMortal Kombatfranchise has followed the same precedent set by the rest of the fighting game genre, releasing just one or two trailers in the lead-up to launch. Thelast fewMortal Kombatentrieshave followed generally the same marketing pattern, with a CG trailer announcing the game and occasionally teasing its story, a gameplay trailer following a little while later, and then finally a launch trailer showcasing quite a bit of the game’s final roster. WhileMortal Kombat 1has followed a similar pattern so far, it’s added a few steps of its own.
Mortal Kombat 1’s marketinghas been some of the best the fighting game genre has ever seen, with it slowly drip-feeding information over the course of about four months.Mortal Kombat 1was first revealed back in May with a CG trailer, introducing the game’s core premise and enticing fans with the promise of a fresh new universe and story. Just a few weeks later,Mortal Kombat 1released its first gameplay trailer, revealing a handful of fighters. Over the course of the last few months,Mortal Kombat 1has continued to release a new trailer at a fairly consistent rate, with each one confirming another handful of fighters for the roster.
By releasing trailers consistently,Mortal Kombat 1is managing to maintain its place in the gaming zeitgeist, and is continuing to build hype in the lead-up to its September release. Just as the hype from one trailer starts to die down, another is released, and the intrigue and excitement are rekindled all over again. Paired with the announcement of someexciting DLC guest characters, and the several stress tests and betas that actually let players get their hands on the game for a bit, andMortal Kombat 1might just be the most anticipated entry in franchise history.
Mortal Kombat 1will release on September 19 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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