Kung Lao Confirmed For ‘Mortal Kombat X’

Phil Spencer, Head of Microsoft's Xbox Division and Microsoft Studios, Speaks During the Xbox E3 Media Briefing at USC's Galen Center in Los Angeles — Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft's Xbox division and Microsoft Studios, speaks during the Xbox E3 Media Briefing at the University of Southern California's Galen Center in Los Angeles, California June 9, 2014. REUTERS

Few fighting games can say they've left a legacy as strong and as memorable like "Mortal Kombat" has. Except for maybe Capcom's "Street Fighter" series, there are few games in the genre with characters who are almost as memorable as their finishers or as the series calls them "fatalities." So when "Mortal Kombat X" was announced, few people could hold their excitement as it was listed in IGN's most anticipated games of 2015. With the demo showcasing fan favourites such as Sub-Zero and Scorpion, fans were wondering who would be the next classic Kombatant coming to the next-gen iteration.

The wait is over as Kung Lao has been confirmed for "Mortal Kombat X" after images from Finnish magazine Pelaaja were leaked with both IGN and Hardcore Gamer covering said leaks. The legendary steel hat wearing monk has always been highly regarded by fans thanks to his awesome hat related fatalities and cool character design. He also appeared alongside Liu Kang in the adventure game "Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks" back in 2005. From the looks of the leaked images it appears that Kung Lao has aged a great deal, which is understandable. It's been stated that "Mortal Kombat X" will be set 25 years after the last installment of the series and many of the previous fighters will become aged veterans.

Also returning are series favourites such as Scorpion - who was last seen in NetherRealm's I"njustice: Gods Among Us" as a downloadable character, sporting a new costume by legendary DC Comics artist Jim Lee - Sub Zero and tattooed villain Quang Chi. NetherRealms spotlighted Quang Chi in a video that revealed the character's three varied fighting styles that should give him an edge over the other fighters.

"Mortal Kombat X" is the tenth iteration of the series and is the first game to hit next-gen consoles such as the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One, it will also be available for PC. The game is also set to be ported by a different developer to last-gen consoles; the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Much like NetherRealm's previous game "Injustice: Gods Among us" the environments can be used as weapons and is set to have a big online life. The game will be released on April 2015.