Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition has been knocked off Steam

Mortal Kombat has suffered a Fatality. At the behest of publishers Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition has been quietly removed from Steam. With no public statement to on, rumour has it that the 2011 beat 'em up's removal might have something to do with rights regarding a certain sharp-fingered 80s dream demon.

Almost a decade after release, the Steam listing for Mortal Kombat's 2011 reboot now notes that, "at the request of the publisher, Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition is no longer available for sale on Steam" (cheers, VG247).

At time of writing, the page doesn't explain the whats, hows and whys of Komplete Edition's sudden fatality. However, speculators over on Resetera reckon a copyright kerfuffle surrounding a certain movie tie-in character might be to blame.

See, when Komplete Edition made its way to Steam, it arrived with all the DLC from its console launch - including supernatural slasher Freddy Kruger (of Nightmare On Elm Street fame). That's sort of just a thing developer NetherRealm Studios does, putting film characters like the Joker, Predator and The Terminator in their high-fantasy gorefest.

In 2019, though, international rights for Elm Street - once owned by WB subsidiary New Line Cinema - returned to the estate of Wes Craven (via Bloody Disgusting). WB retained their use in the states, but without international rights, their ability to exploit the IP or the character of Kruger are severely limited.

That's the theory, at least. VG247 notes that Kruger is still available for download on the Xbox 360 of the game, while Komplete Edition is still on sale on PS3. Is there something else to blame? Did WB overlook two ancient console storefronts when wiping Komplete Edition from sale? Without official word from the publishers, who can say?

The rest of the series' Steam entries, including 2019's quite good Mortal Kombat 11, remain unaffected.