Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe was a bold undertaking, marrying the unique fighting mechanics of the series with characters, like Superman and Batman, taken from the best selling comics put out by DC Comics. Still, the game, which arrived in the shadow of Street Fighter IV, could not sell enough to save Midway, the company that handled the publishing.

Even if sales were good, Mortal Kombat is not interested in a collaboration, for the time being, with the next game, referred to at the moment as Mortal Kombat 9, set to return to the roots of the series, with a cast of familiar fighters and with a bigger selection of bloody moves.

Ed Boon, who has created the series and worked on all installments, said that “People want an M-rated MK. […] We will give them an M-rated MK.” He emphasized that those rather violent fatalities would be re-introduced and even talked about “taking these too far.”

Violence was a trademark of the Mortal Kombat game but it was limited in the latest release because the game was using DC characters and the comics company is not keen on introducing too much blood and gore in its properties. Midway also hoped that a larger audience would be attracted by a Teen rating.

Boon added that the next Mortal Kombat would be coming sometime in late 2010 and that the development process might be affected by factors outside the control of the team working on it, like the acquisition of now bankrupt Midway. At the moment, Warner Bros. is in the lead with a bid of over 33 million dollars but other suitors might appear. A buyer or another might see other projects as being more important than Mortal Kombat, so we might be waiting for it beyond 2010.