Almost 30 years ago, on October 8, 1992, the Mortal Kombat phenomenon was born. With 75 million games sold since its debut, including more than 12 million for the latest installment, the franchise today outweighs competitors like Street Fighter and Tekken, in large part thanks to its considerable influence. in the American market. Mortal Kombat is the work of a lifetime for Ed Boon, still today creative director at NetherRealm Studios, whom the academy has decided to welcome into its hall of fame. Ed Boon, 57, joins names like Shigeru Miyamoto (1998), John Carmack (2001), Yu Suzuki (2003), Mark Cerny (2010), Tim Sweeney (2012), Gabe Newell (2013), Hideo Kojima ( 2016) or Todd Howard (2017). The induction ceremony will take place on February 25 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas as part of the DICE Awards, annual awards organized by the academy. The prize will be presented to him by Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, who met Ed Boon when he joined Midway in the mid-90s.
“We are thrilled to have Ed inducted into our hall of fame. From his early work on pinball machines to his monumental accomplishments co-creating the Mortal Kombat franchise, Ed’s dedication and perseverance to craftsmanship and the art of games has left an incredible legacy for fans and game developers alike.“, comments Meggan Scavio, president of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. After graduating from the University of Illinois, Ed Boon began working as a programmer at pinball machine manufacturer Williams Electronics. He then joined the arcade department of Williams Electronics and released its first game, High Impact Football, in December 1990, followed by its sequel Super High Impact a year later. certain fighting game.
And while NetherRealm Studios also had notable success with Injustice and Injustice 2, taking advantage of being bought out by the Warner family to play with DC superheroes, rumor has it that the studio is now focused on Mortal Kombat 12, simply. Just this morning, a member of the studio posted (then deleted) a photo on Twitter that showed a named file that included the term MK12. A pseudo leak that seems to have more of a skilfully calculated wink than a real clumsiness.
- See also | This is why Mortal Kombat is blood