Mortal Kombat 1 Gets Big New Update for January 2025

Summary

• Mortal Kombat 1’s latest update adds Conan the Barbarian as a playable character.
• It also includes a number of improvements and gameplay fixes, with ray-tracing options being added for PC and PS5 Pro users.

On the heels of Conan the Barbarian’s gameplay trailer, Mortal Kombat 1‘s latest update has launched, granting players access to the sword-wielding slab of a playable DLC character, alongside a number of fixes, improvements, and other additional content. Mortal Kombat 1 is currently in the midst of its Khaos Reigns storyline, which follows Liu Kang and his allies in an alternate timeline as they battle against the Titan Havik.

Mortal Kombat 1, the 2023 soft reboot of the franchise, has seen a number of DLC characters released already, with Cyrax, Sektor, Noob Saibot, Ghostface (of Scream franchise fame), and now Conan being added to the game’s roster. The T-1000 has also been confirmed as an upcoming addition to the title, with the villainous liquid metal Terminator’s Mortal Kombat 1 Fatality having recently been teased by series co-creator Ed Boon.

With the new update, Conan the Barbarian has been added to the roster of fighters. The playable character uses Arnold Schwarzenegger’s likeness from the 1982 film version of Robert E. Howard’s sword and sorcery creation. Chris Cox reprises the voice acting role from his turn as the Terminator in Mortal Kombat 11 to provide the Arnold-impersonating dialogue. Conan arrives with a full suite of fittingly barbaric fighting moves, leaning heavily on swordplay and brute force maneuvers, all of which display a clean fluidity and integration into well-devised combos.

Sharp-eyed fans of the character will spot a few Easter eggs scattered throughout Conan’s moves, like the appearance of a red Sonya Blade (a reference to one of Conan’s contemporaries, Red Sonia) and his Animality featuring a Cimmerian bull, a beast that Conan claims to have broken the neck of as a boy in his original mythology. Conan’s other Mortal Kombat 1 Fatalities are appropriately brutal, with heavy sword swings, gory dismemberment, and Arnold-esque grunts taking center stage.

The update also contains a variety of gameplay fixes. These include new moves for characters like Kitana, Raiden, and Reiko, as well as adjustments to Shang Tsung, Ermac, Ghostface, and others. A number of Kameo fighters have also been tweaked to balance gameplay and correct errors. The update also brings new skins for several characters. Alongside this, ray-tracing options have been added for PC and PS5 Pro users, enabling enhanced reflections and lighting on several stages and characters. Several fixes specific to the Nintendo Switch version of the game are also included.

While the continued development of future Kombat Packs is unconfirmed, Mortal Kombat 1 may still have a few secrets left to divulge. As a standout entry in the current generation of fighting games, the game will likely continue to receive support from its developers for some time to come.

Mortal Kombat 1 January Patch Notes

PC Steam & Epic Games Store

• Added Ray Tracing option via Settings > Graphics section for supported hardware to enable ray traced reflections on certain stages and characters
• Added Display Language option via Settings > Video & Audio > Video section
• Added Audio Language option via Settings > Video & Audio > Audio section
• Added Reset Shaders Cache option via Settings > Graphics > Actions
• Moved the Settings > Graphics AA Mode option to be nested in the Upscaling section to better indicate interaction with Upscaling Method option
• Resolved an issue on boot with Windows Accounts containing certain text characters
• Resolved various performance related issues during Fatality sequences
• Resolved certain visual issues during various cinematic sequences
• Resolved various UI elements being cutoff in certain cases
• Resolved visual issues when playing at certain frame rates
• Resolved error prompt when making a store purchase
• Resolved issues with Voice Chat in some scenarios
• Resolved an issue with input UI during Tutorials
• Resolved issues with Steam overlay
• Resolved various stability issues
• Further optimized PSO Shader Cache generation flow
• Improvements to Screen Reader in certain languages
• Various localization updates and fixes

Nintendo Switch

• Entering and exiting the pause menu during online practice no longer causes latency increases
• Friends only tab in Kombat League should now populate correctly

General Fixes & Adjustments

• Move list corrections & Localization fixes
• AI adjustments & improvements
• Improvements to Screen Reader functionality
• Added Conan Fighter to Roster
• Added Age of Conan skins for Ashrah, Baraka, & Geras
• Fixed several visual issues during brutalities

PlayStation 5 Pro

• Added Ray Tracing support for reflections

Character Specific Adjustments

Main Fighters

• Havik
  • While Blood Bath tether is active it will continuously drain Havik’s health and grant him meter
  • Blood Bath now only possible when below 30% health
• Kitana
  • Added new move (Air) Enhanced Fan Toss
  • Added new move (Air) Reverse Fan Toss
  • Added new move (Air) Enhanced Reverse Fan Toss
  • Added new move Wind Bomb Squall
• Raiden
  • Added new move Electric Overcharge
  • Added new move Electric Discharge
• Reiko
  • Added new move (Air) Reap The Whirlwind
  • Added new move (Air) Enhanced Reap The Whirlwind
  • Assassin Throwing Stars and Enhanced Assassin Throwing Stars are now destroyed by opponent’s projectiles
  • Pain Knee from Enhanced Charging Pain now has a different reaction
• Scorpion
  • Fixed rare issue that could cause Sweeping Scorpion Tail (B+3) to sometimes do 3 hits when blocked or hit armor
• Shang Tsung
  • When morphed into Ghostface and swapped to an Alternate Killer, Shang Tsung will no longer morph back until returned to Original Killer
  • Fixed specific sequence using Kameo Kopy to turn into Khameleon causing Kameo Kopy move to become disabled for an extended period
  • Fixed visual issue with Kameo Kopy interrupted at specific timing when opponent is using Ferra
  • Fixed rare issue that could occur during endurance fights that could cause lingering visuals when Shang Tsung is defeated
• Ermac
  • Fixed some of Witch Slam, Enhanced Witch Slam, Behind You, and Too Late damage not correctly applying some damage buffs
• Cyrax
  • Fixed an opponent caught in capture foam being able to sometimes go through Kameo Frost Ice Wall
• Sektor
  • Fixed lingering sound effects on Bionic Blast (Hold 2) when losing a match
• Ghostface
  • Fixed rare issues where Alternate Killer could be prevented from swapping back to Billy when hit by certain attacks on the same frame as Killer timer ran out
  • Fixed issues with stun attacks causing combo to reset if used at specific timing after Knife Toss Fakeout
  • Fixed temporary restriction preventing player from performing Knife Toss Fakeout
  • Fixed missing sound effects on some attacks
  • Fixed missing sound effects when Alternate Killers are hit by some attacks

Kameo Fighters

• Darrius (Kameo)
  • Fixed Darrius rapidly moving outside of the arena when performing Ground Invitational in certain corner circumstances
• Sektor (Kameo)
  • Fixed issue that was causing Straight Missile Fatal Blow to not become invulnerable after hitting opponent
  • Straight Missile (Fatal Blow) now has 4 more startup frames when not in a combo & no longer has armor
• Scorpion (Kameo)
  • Flame Aura has a different reaction against Kameos, deals extra damage, and adds a victim flame visual effects
  • Flame Aura can now hit airborne Kameos
  • Flame Aura drains 50% Kameo meter from the opponent if it hits an opponent’s Kameo
• Sub-Zero (Kameo)
  • Fixed Deep Freeze facing wrong direction if performed at specific timing against a teleporting opponent
• Shujinko (Kameo)
  • Shujinko can now perform Borrow: Psychotic Dive to Prone Stab against Ghostface
  • Fixed Mimic: Enhanced Backstage Pass when performed against Ghostface sometimes missing if the opponent is in the corner
• Motaro (Kameo)
  • Fixed issue that was causing Charge! Fatal Blow to not become invulnerable after hitting opponent
  • Fixed Uppercut (Down + Back Punch) & Fatal Blow attacks doing incorrect damage against Motaro
• Tremor (Kameo)
  • Attacks that cause push forward block reaction will now cause Crystal Armor hit reaction to push forward
• Ferra (Kameo)
  • Fixed Uppercut (Down + Back Punch) & Fatal Blow attacks doing incorrect damage against Ferra