It’s going from bad to worse for the embattled Nintendo Switch version of Mortal Kombat 1. After fans critcised its visuals and $70 price tag, the official Mortal Kombat 1 Switch launch trailer has now come under fire for apparently using PC gameplay footage.
A placeholder Steam achievement pop-up appears during the Mortal Kombat 1 launch trailer published to the Nintendo of America YouTube channel on release day, September 19.
The pop-up appears in the bottom-right corner of the screen during gameplay of the new Invasions mode, which suggests PC footage was used to create at least this section of the Switch trailer. At the time of publication, the trailer is still live. IGN has asked publisher Warner Bros. Games for comment.
YouTube commenters are now slamming the video for being misleading, with some even calling for refunds. "The trailer is not representative of the Switch version," pedrovillela3426 said. "The achievement notification that appeared as 1:53 shows that this footage is from the PC version. Unfortunately the Switch version looks and run way worse than what was shown in this trailer."
It’s a high-profile gaffe for Warner Bros. Games, Nintendo, and developer NetherRealm, the latter of which is already facing tough questions about the heavily criticised Switch version. NetherRealm boss Ed Boon recently has promised updates are coming following complaints about visuals, performance, and missing modes.
What makes matters worse here is the Switch version of Mortal Kombat 1 only has the tutorial stage of the Invasions mode. According to a post on the Warner Bros. Games support page, the full version of Invasions is due out on Switch “in a matter of weeks”.
“To ensure the best possible experience for Switch players at launch, only the introduction for Invasions will be available,” the statement reads. “The full breadth of Invasions Season 1 content will be available on Switch in a matter of weeks. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause Switch players and are working to make this update as quickly as possible.”
IGN’s review of the current-gen version of Mortal Kombat 1 returned an 8/10, but IGN’s review of the Switch version, ported by Shiver Entertainment and Saber Interactive, came back with a 3/10. “Mortal Kombat 1 proves to be too much for the Switch's dated hardware,” we said. “The load times are egregious, there are numerous bugs plaguing both graphics and gameplay, making for a poor quality port of a great game that's all around aggravating to play.”
Meanwhile, Mortal Kombat 1 dataminers believe they’ve found clues to unannounced DLC characters. If you're playing, check out how to perform all Mortal Kombat 1 Fatalities.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.