Mortal Kombat 1 continues the tradition of dealing with rage quitters in hilariously brutal ways

Scorpion and Kung Lao team up in Mortal Kombat 1.
(Image credit: Netherrealm Studios)

There's nothing more annoying than absolutely rinsing your opponent in a fighting game, only to have them throw a tantrum and pull the plug mid-match. NetherRealm devised a fun way to deal with cowardly disconnectors back in Mortal Kombat X with "Quitalities," where the loser finishes themselves with a neat head explosion or, in Mortal Kombat 11's case, a giant rock impaling them. It beats the classic "oops, sorry" disconnection screen and thankfully, it's making a return in the new entry.

Mortal Kombat 1's stress test took place over the weekend—on Xbox and PlayStation only, sadly—letting fans try out four fighters and three supports across a handful of stages offline, or against other players online. It seems like some players took the "stress" part of the stress test a little too literally online, with people facing more than a few rage quitters across the weekend.

On the bright side, it gave us a good look at the new flavour of Quitality Mortal Kombat 1 is bringing. Instead of head explosions or rock impalings, this time characters are taking to snapping their own necks to escape brutal beatings. Ouch. It's a neat animation though, with the stage slipping into a noir colour palette as the spine-tingling sound of crunching bones penetrates your earholes. Perhaps not everyone's cup of tea, but a very Mortal Kombat way of disconnecting from the match.

Hopefully, PC players won't have to wait long to be included in future betas or stress tests. The console one is wrapping up today (June 26) and there'll no doubt be another opportunity to play before its September 19 release date. Let's just hope NetherRealm manages to cull its mammoth 100GB install size before then. 

Mollie Taylor
Features Producer

Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she's not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.  

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