A recently surfaced playtest announcement for an "unreleased AAA 2D fighting game" is heavily indicating that NetherRealm Studios is working on its next title, widely believed to be Injustice 3. The listing, posted on the Good Gamers Group website, has fueled speculation due to several key pieces of evidence.
The initial observations, highlighted by EventHubs, first ruled out potential 3D fighting games such as Virtua Fighter Crossroads and Dead or Alive 7, as the playtest specifically calls for a 2D title. Additionally, the description of the game as "AAA" suggests a high-budget production, likely excluding smaller-scale projects like Melty Blood Twi-Lumina.
With no other major AAA 2D fighting games publicly announced, the focus has shifted to Injustice 3. A significant clue is the playtest's location: Culver City, California. While NetherRealm Studios is based in Chicago, its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, has a major headquarters in Culver City. This geographical connection provides a strong link to the developer's current projects.
Further bolstering the theory, NetherRealm Studios has been actively hiring for new positions in recent months, following the release of Mortal Kombat 1 in 2023. This suggests that development on a new title has been underway for some time. Additionally, reports from last year indicated that voice actors Phil LaMarr and George Newbern, who voiced Aquaman and Superman respectively in the earlier Injustice games, may have inadvertently revealed their involvement in a new installment before retracting their statements.
While a mobile DC fighting game, reportedly announced by Warner Bros., could be a possibility, its classification as "AAA" by the playtest description makes this scenario less likely.