Mortal Kombat 11 panel reveals Noob Saibot gameplay trailer, Shang Tsung to be first DLC character

During Mortal Kombat 11’s C2E2 panel in Chicago last night, NetherRealm Studios showcased two new playable fighters who will be joining the fighting roster. A new gameplay trailer unveiled Noob Saibot’s return to the series, and to add even more excitement to the gory fighting fest, Shang Tsung from the Mortal Kombat movie is going to be the first DLC character. 

The gameplay trailer shows off Noob Saibot’s suitability gut-wrenching finisher along with some realm-bending special moves. Creator Ed Boon talked about the character’s history in the series, in which he started out as a hidden character in Mortal Kombat 2 and didn’t have much of a backstory at all. Since then they’ve fleshed out the character and truly made him a part of series’ history, with more detailed gear and plenty of awesome moves to play around with.  

Half way through the panel, NetherRealm gave us one more character reveal, and it was none other than Shang Tsung as he appeared in the Mortal Kombat movie that came out back in 1995. Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa has reprised his role to appear in-game as the first DLC character. Ed Boon explained Shang Tsung will also act as the guide of the Krypt, where players can unlock additional content. 

Outside of the two reveals, the panel talked about how they design and create the characters brutal fatalities, with slides show early concept art of Baraka’s fatality Face Off, and how it then progresses in Motion-capture to become what we see in-game. 

With Mortal Kombat’s release date - April 23 - just a month away, it won’t be long until we can test out Saibot’s moves for ourselves. 

Want to know more about the making of Mortal Kombat 11? Be sure to check out why Mortal Kombat 11 isn’t “just Mortal Kombat X with prettier graphics and different characters”

Heather Wald
Senior staff writer

I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at GamesRadar+. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good.