Kenshi and Scarlet Coming to Mortal Kombat as DLC

Mortal Kombat 9 doesn’t launch in North America until tomorrow, but NetherRealm Studios has already announced the game’s first DLC pack. Fan favorite Kenshi and the “Lady in Red” (otherwise known as Scarlet) will be up for sale sometime soon.

Kenshi is the swordsman who was blinded by Shang Tsung but ultimately gained his eye sight back at the end of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. Scarlet, meanwhile, has proved somewhat of a mystery until clarification from NetherRealm, who revealed her creation in an interview with CVG.

“Anyone who knows the history of Mortal Kombat will tell you that back in the days of the arcade–when they did just palette swap characters to come up with multiple fighters in the game–there was a glitch in one of the old arcade machines that caused the Jade/Katana/Milena female ninja to glitch and turn red,” Producer Hans Lo said.

“People always thought it was a hidden unlockable character and it wasn’t, it was purely a programming glitch. They’ve always speculated and in fact it was the fans who named her Scarlet to begin with. She’s no longer a glitch–she’s an actual character, and she’ll be coming pretty soon post-launch.”

Lo was quick to shut down potential “cloning” of current characters in the game, saying that every new addition to the roster will be unique and have their own style. Kintaro is also on the way, though there’s no time frame on his arrival. Lo promised that DLC will be provided for Mortal Kombat “as long as people are playing it.”

There’s a big difference between announcing DLC for a game before it comes out and after it comes out. Early releases are all but confirmation of the content being preloaded onto the disc, an issue that’s been the cause of much upheaval lately, and none more so than Marvel vs. Capcom 3 with Jill Valentine sneaking around on the game’s disc prior to her release as DLC.