First Look at Conan the Barbarian Gameplay in Mortal Kombat 1

Mortal Kombat 1 developer NetherRealm has revealed a first look at Conan the Barbarian gameplay with a teaser video that also confirms the DLC character’s release date.

Conan the Barbarian’s early access release date is set for January 21, 2025, with a general release planned for a week later. In the video, below, we see Conan go up against Mortal Kombat’s villainous warmonger Shao Kahn and deliver the iconic line: “To crush your enemies, see them driven before you.” Shao Kahn, clearly recognising the wisdom of the words, replies: “Truly, what is best in life.” The pair are kindred spirits, it seems.

Conan the Barbarian joins the #MortalKombat1 roster Jan 21, 2025!#Conan #ConanTheBarbarian pic.twitter.com/e6OXoggnDx

— Ed Boon (@noobde) December 10, 2024

In the 1982 Conan the Barbarian movie, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s titular character is asked: “what is best in life?” He responds: “To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.” It sounds like NetherRealm left that last bit out.

As for the gameplay, Conan plays as you’d expect, with what looks like a fairly straightforward use of his Atlantean Sword. We see a number of flashy moves fans of the film will find familiar, including Conan’s sword swirl. Conan can deflect projectiles, too.

One open question is who voices Conan in Mortal Kombat 1? It seems likely that Chris Cox, who voiced the Terminator in Mortal Kombat 11, plays Conan here, given publisher Warner Bros. would probably have trumpeted getting Arnie in if it had managed it.

Conan the Barbarian is the fifth DLC character to be released for Mortal Kombat 1’s Kombat Pack 2, and follows Noob Saibot, Cyrax, Sektor, and last month’s addition of Ghostface from the Scream films. The sixth and final DLC character is T-1000 Terminator. Warner Bros. is yet to announce a third Kombat Pack or a new set of DLC characters.

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.