Persistent Competition: Mortal Kombat X's Faction Wars

Here are some ideas for persistent jazz in a Mortal Kombat game: every single body part you tear out, off, or inside-out is tossed onto a big pile you can climb; sit and pose atop a ever-growing throne built from the bones you smash; swim in a pool filled with every drop of blood you've let; a vast graveyard with a headstone for every fallen foe and you walk slowly through it then sit on a bench and listen to a nice song and maybe die peacefully yourself.

Mortal Kombat X [official site] does none of these. I don't know why. Instead it has an ongoing online rivalry where players join warring factions and 'fight' with points earned through murders.

Today brought the announcement of MKX's 'Faction Wars' online competition thingy. Every player joins one of five factions, and everything they do, whether multiplayer or by themselves, earns points for their faction. The factions are 'battling', though this simply means they're competing to get the most points each week. Developers NetherRealm hope this competition will help foster camaraderie and rivalries. Factions offer rewards like their own special fatalities too.

That's enough summing up out of me. This here trailer has more details:

Mortal Kombat X is due on April 14th. The system requirements recently popped up on its Steam page if you're curious. They're higher than the last MK, as it's now a prettier thing made for newer consoles, but don't seem super demanding.