Mortal Kombat 2 source code leak gets shut down by Warner Bros. lawyers

The source code for 1993’s Mortal Kombat 2GitHub was published over the holidays to reveal new artwork. an alternative storyline. Now Warner Bros.’ lawyers have gotten involved, filing a DMCA takedown demand that GitHub has honored. All this attention has brought back the story of the leak.

The code landed on GitHub in a Dec. 27 post, and with it, images of an alternate, attract-mode screen setting up the fighting game’s narrative. It’s the same story; Shang Tsung pleads for his life and is granted a reprieve by Shao Khan. Shang Tsung then lures the Earthrealm kombatants to fight a tournament in the Outworld “where they will meet certain death by Shao Kahn himself.”

Image: NetherRealm Studios via tehdrewsus_MKOn Twitter

This alternate screen shows Shao Kahn’s flexing image, but it is placed over a background that displays a portal in the dimensional dimension with evil wizards. It doesn’t really change Mortal Kombat 2’s story, but it does go a little further to sell the idea that nonplayable bosses Kintaro and Shao Kahn have a home field advantage in the Outworld.

Warner Bros. sent a representative to GitHub on Friday. Discovery (the corporate parent of NetherRealm Studios and therefore Mortal Kombat’s copyright holder) sent a DMCA request to GitHub, which then wiped the archive of material from the site. The source code was posted by historicalsource who had previously uploaded it.

Also, the source code dump revealed other animations, combos, and fighter moves that weren’t used in the arcade game. Mortal Kombat lovers have already combed through everything, finding a scrapped Shao Kahn fatality (his fist comes through a portal above his victim’s head, crushing them flat) as well as Reptile performing a mid-air Acid Spit, among other things.

Polygon reached out WB Games, NetherRealm Studios to get their comments about the code leak and the cutting-room floor animations.