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Evo Online has been officially canceled following decisions by multiple developers to distance themselves from the event, Kotaku has learned. Street Fighter V, Mortal Kombat 11, and more were pulled from Evo Online following allegations of sexual misconduct against the organization’s co-founder and CEO, Joey “Mr. Wizard” Cuellar.

Mortal Kombat 11 narrowly missed out on being part of the Evo 2020 lineup before the covid-19 pandemic forced the event to go online and shift to games with competent rollback netcode. As of June 30, 1,357 competitors had registered to compete in Mortal Kombat across Evo Online’s three regions.

“We stand in solidarity with those who have spoken out against abuse,” Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm Studios’ official statement reads.

Street Fighter V had the opposite journey. It was once a shoe-in for Evo 2020, but its longstanding reputation for having poorly optimized netcode made it anathema to the Evo Online experience. Still, the organizers were planning to hold exhibitions in the Capcom-developed fighter between the event’s main games.

“In light of the recent accusations of misconduct made against Evo organizer Joey Cuellar, Capcom will no longer be participating in Evo 2020,” the developer wrote. “Out of respect to those who have been affected and to the current investigation, we felt this was the appropriate course of action. We apologize to the players and fans who were looking forward to these tournaments.”

Update (07/o2/2020, 8:30 p.m. ET): Them’s Fightin’ Herds has also been pulled by its developer, Mane6. Much like Mortal Kombat, the My Little Pony-inspired fighting game was included at Evo Online thanks to its use of rollback netcode.

“The current situation surrounding Evo organizer Joey Cuellar has created an environment that we feel uncomfortable being involved in, and we are unwilling to have [Them’s Fightin’ Herds] showcased on the Evo stage under the current circumstances,” Mane6 wrote.

Update (07/o2/2020, 8:51 p.m. ET): Bandai Namco has joined the growing list of developers distancing themselves from Evo. This means the planned Tekken 7, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and Soulcalibur VI exhibitions will no longer be part of the online event.

“Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. has decided to end our participation in Evo 2020 in response to recent abuse allegations,” the company’s statement reads. “We stand in solidarity with the individuals who have spoken out against abuse within the fighting game community and thank our fans for their continued support.”

Update (07/o2/2020, 9:25 p.m. ET): Evo has released another statement, this time detailing its plans to replace Cuellar as CEO with fellow co-founder Tony “Ponder” Cannon and to cancel Evo Online entirely.

“Over the past 24 hours, in response to serious allegations recently made public on Twitter, we have made the first of a series of important decisions regarding the future of our company,” a spokesperson for Evo told Kotaku via email. “Effective immediately, Joey Cuellar will no longer be involved with Evo in any capacity. We are currently working towards his complete separation from the company and have relieved him of all his responsibilities.

“Going forward, Tony Cannon will act as CEO; in this position, he will take a leadership role in prioritizing greater accountability across Evo, both internally and at our events.

“Progress doesn’t happen overnight, or without the bravery of those who speak up against misconduct and injustice. We are shocked and saddened by these events, but we are listening and committed to making every change that will be necessary in making Evo a better model for the stronger, safer culture we all seek. As a result, we will be canceling Evo Online and will work to issue refunds for all players who chose to purchase a badge. We will donate the equivalent of the proceeds as promised to Project HOPE.”

The new single-player story content in Mortal Kombat 11’s Aftermath expansion stars the treacherous sorcerer Shang Tsung. Having that backstabby, soul-stealing bastard front-and-center is a good sign that betrayal is going down at some point. It’s just a matter of when and how much.

Eventually and bunches.

Out today for PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One, Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath is a paid expansion that continues the single-player story from the initial release and adds a trio of new playable characters. Japanese wind god Fujin returns to the series, as does the four-armed Queen Sheeva, both playing key roles in the new story chapters. The third new character, Robert “Robocop” Cop, is a new guest character who sadly does not appear in the story. Along with the paid update, Netherrealm Studios also released a free update for all players that adds new items and equipment, brings back classic stage fatalities, and gives characters the means to end a fight on a positive note with warm-hearted Friendship fatalities.

As a solo player who’d rather not compete online, I’m all about the new story expansion. Called “Part 2: Aftermath,” it picks up where the first part of the story left off. To set that up, we’re going to need to spoil a few things.

Mortal Kombat 11’s big boss is Kronika, the keeper of time, who seeks to use her vast power to erase the influence of thunder god Raiden from the timeline. In Klassic Towers mode any character can defeat Kronika and rewrite history as they see fit. In the story mode ending, which is Mortal Kombat canon, Raiden grants his power to Liu Kang, transforming him into the god of lightning and thunder. Fire god Liu Kang defeats Kronika and prepares to use her power to completely reshape history.

The new chapter picks up where the old one left off, but as Liu Kang starts reshaping, a portal appears, spitting out wind god Fujin, spiritual warrior Nightwolf, and good old Shang Tsung. The trio, who were trapped by Kronika and freed upon her defeat, warn that Liu Kang cannot reshape history without Kronika’s Crown of Souls, which was destroyed during their final battle. If he tries without the crown, time will be destroyed forever. Fortunately, Shang Tsung has a plan.

Mr. Tsung offers to go back in time to steal Kronika’s crown from his own palace, at which point he’ll totally give it to the good guys and let them win. Nothing can go wrong with his plan.

A few things go wrong with his plan. First off, Liu Kang doesn’t send the trio far back enough in time. Shang Tsung, Fujin, and Nightwolf appear in the middle of one of the original story’s huge set pieces, sneaking through the background of events that have already taken place. It’s very Back to the Future. Or Back to the Future II.

Due to Shang Tsung and friends’ meddling, events that occurred in the original story chapters begin to unfold differently. Alliances made in part one crumble apart in part two, leading to a very different version of the final confrontation. Players on both sides of the battle between good and evil get betrayed all to hell.

I don’t want to spoil too much about this entertaining little rewrite of recent Mortal Kombat history. It’s nice to see characters introduced as part of the game’s battle pass downloadable content—Sindel, Shang Tsung, and Nightwolf—getting to participate in the narrative. The story is as predictable as Shang Tsung’s relentless pursuit of personal power at any cost, but it’s still a fun ride.

The entire thing only lasts two and a half hours, depending on how good players are with Fujin, Shang Tsung, Nightwolf, and a handful of other characters. It’s the same formula as before. There are five chapters, numbered 13 through 17, each revolving around a character or pair of characters. The story plays out in lengthy cutscenes interspersed with standard Mortal Kombat 11 battles. During some chapters and at certain key moments the player can choose which character to play as. Once the story is over, completionists can use chapter select to go back and play with different choices.

Heads roll, characters live, and characters die. When the grand prize in the tournament, as it were, is the ability to completely rewrite history, all sorts of gory stuff can happen with ultimately no consequence whatsoever. Mortal Kombat 11 was always going to be the end of the series’ current fiction and the beginning of something new. Aftermath just gives players a couple more hours of betrayal-packed drama to enjoy as we wait for the next reboot.

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Mortal Kombat 11 features an extensive cast of classic and modern characters, but fan favorite Mileena remains a glaring exception. And while she’s finally set to make a brief appearance in the upcoming Aftermath expansion, something tells me her vocal fanbase won’t be satisfied with this small concession.

In addition to expanding the Mortal Kombat 11 story and introducing even more playable characters, Aftermath marks the return of the series’ “Friendships,” match-ending celebrations similar to Fatalities but with balloons and hugs instead of blood and guts. Mileena will finally make her Mortal Kombat 11 debut thanks to these finishers, resigned to playing “patty cake” with her sister Kitana despite being a major antagonist in Mortal Kombat X.

This is truly some monkey’s paw shit from developer NetherRealm Studios. “You asked for Mileena to be in the game,” I can imagine Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon cackling. “You didn’t specify as a playable character!” She’s even wearing her classic Mortal Kombat II outfit, without any of the added bells and whistles from her subsequent appearances. As a stan for the half-Tarkatan queen myself, I can’t help but see this as a subtle dig at Mileena fans being stuck in the past. You wound me, NetherRealm.

Friendships are meant to add some much-needed levity to what is often a very violent part of the game. Sure, it’s weird that Mileena isn’t in the game along with the rest of her family, but it’s always fun when developers take a chance to mess with the fanbase a little bit. And hey, now that a Mileena model exists in Mortal Kombat 11, it won’t be long until modders do their thing and make her playable themselves.

Great news for fans of Mortal Kombat 11‘s single-player narrative this morning, as Netherrealm Studios revealed Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, an all-new $40 expansion the continues the game’s story and adds new fighters, including returning favorites Fujin and Sheeva and a certain half-man, half-machine, all cop.

As Liu Kang prepares to reshape history as his reward for defeating Kronika in Mortal Kombat 11‘s story mode, the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung appears with some familiar faces at his side. It turns out Liu Kang can’t fix history without Kronika’s crown, destroyed during their battle. The only way to retrieve it is to send Shang Tsung back in time. Are we really going to trust this dude? Does it help that RoboCop is coming with?

Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath will be available on all digital platforms May 26. All players will gain access to a free update with new arenas (including the return of Dead Pool and Soul Chamber), stage fatalities, and friendships.

Awwww.

The Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath expansion costs $40, or $50 bundled with the Kombat Pass DLC. Players who don’t own Mortal Kombat 11 can purchase the Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath Kollection, which includes the original game, the expansion, and all DLC, for $60.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge, the new film from Warner Bros. Animation, begins with dozens of ninja being torn limb from limb. Hanzo “Scorpion” Hasashi’s young son is viciously slayed while the titular ninja helplessly watches. Fans of the fighting game’s over-the-top violence will be… pleased?

This might get a little gross, folks.

The first animated Mortal Kombat project since the laughable 1996 cartoon Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm is definitely not for kids. Scorpion’s Revenge, released last week digitally and coming to DVD and Blu-ray April 28, is a retelling of the tournament between Earthrealm and Outworld from the original game, using Scorpion’s tragic origin story as a framing device.

It’s a tale as old as time. Shirai Ryu Grandmaster Hanzo Hasashi is a good husband and caring father whose entire clan is wiped out by the Lin Kuei, a rival clan led by notoriously blue ninja Sub-Zero. In order to maximize sympathy for Hanzo, this particular retelling begins with a touching scene between father and son, in which he tells young Satoshi how cool scorpions are.

The pair return from their outing to a village full of fresh corpses and rampaging blue ninja. Hanzo, his son perched on his back, rips and tears his way through the invading Lin Kuei to reach his home, but he’s too late. Young Satoshi discovers his mother’s bloody corpse and Hanzo goes into a berserker rage.

This first major battle sets the tone for the fighting in Mortal Kombat Legends. Limbs fly, faces are stabbed and sliced, innards become outtards. It’s frantic and energetic like the sort of adult animation shorts MTV used to air in the ’90s. Despite the fast action, the battle choreography is easy to follow. It’s beautiful, in a horribly violent sort of way.

The only time the action falters is during x-ray shots. In a nod to the mechanic that’s become a hallmark of the fighting game series, the action pauses now and then for some slow-motion eye-popping and bone-breaking. These made me giggle every time. They’re just so silly.

As impressive as it is, Hanzo’s decimation of the Lin Kuei forces is all for naught. Rival clan leader Sub-Zero forces Hanzo to surrender by threatening Satoshi’s life. Hanzo submits, and Sub-Zero kills them both anyway.

Somehow Hanzo winds up in a fiery corner of Outworld, scheduled for an eternity of torment at the hands of Shinnok’s demonic minions. He breaks free, because he’s the main character, and slaughters his way to Shinnok’s henchman Quan Chi. The sorcerer convinces the resurrected ninja to fight for Outworld in the Mortal Kombat tournament in order to exact his revenge on Sub-Zero. But Hanzo Hasashi is dead. Call him Scorpion.

From this point, Scorpion’s Revenge is pretty much the original Mortal Kombat with a few twists. Raiden recruits his champion, Liu Kang, down-and-out action hero Johnny Cage, and commando Sonya Blade to serve as Earthrealm’s champions. In a fun twist, Sonya’s introduction involves her straight-up murdering a man in a street fighting match in China. I suppose it’s possible he survives, but look at this guy’s face.

Once the big three are introduced, Scorpion’s Revenge loses some steam. In attempting to cover familiar beats from the game, it becomes the Johnny Cage, Sonya, and Liu Kang show with special guest star Scorpion. Events from the game’s lore, like Liu Kang winning over Outworld princess Kitana and Cage and Blade’s budding love/hate but eventually all love relationship, are rushed through to get to similarly rushed Scorpion bits.

The movie’s story might be hurried, Scorpion’s Revenge always has time for fighting and gory violence. We see limbs torn from bodies, skulls yanked from heads leaving behind flapping face skin, shattering teeth, crackling bones, and muscles slowly being stretched apart. It’s not just villains doing the slaughtering, either. At one point, the heroic Liu Kang, battling a gaggle of Black Dragon mercenaries, decapitates one and uses his severed head as a weapon.

In other words, it’s Mortal Kombat. It’s the brutality that fans of the series sign up for every time a new game comes out in a convenient two-hour animated form. I expected a light story draped over a lot of egregious violence, and Scorpion’s Revenge delivered.

Hooray, but also ew.

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