Many of this weekend's Final Kombat plans have been cancelled.
NetherRealm Studios has announced that all of the live Final Kombat 2020 events will no longer happen. This includes the Last Chance Qualifier that was supposed to take place tomorrow, March 7th. There will no longer be a live audience present at the competition this Sunday, March 8th. There will also no longer be any special guests appearances, which includes Spawn creator Todd McFarlane. These events were cancelled due to "the escalating concerns and cautions around COVID-19." The announcement states that the health and safety of the events players, fans, and staff are a top priority.
Those who purchased tickets for the cancelled events will be refunded. Fans who had tickets should receive details about their refunds by March 13th. NetherRealm Studios also stated that those who incurred nonrefundable hotel or airfare costs should contact [email protected].
Even though the live portions of Final Kombat have been cancelled, the main tournament will be livestreamed. The 16 contestants and the staff will be a part of the livestream, which will take place on March 8th at 11:00 a.m. CST. There are still plans to show off the Spawn gameplay, as well as a red band trailer for Mortal Kombat Legends during the stream.
Mortal Kombat 11 will be free to try on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this weekend, coinciding with Final Kombat this year. The free trial will run until March 9th. The trial will not be available on PC, Google Stadia, or the Nintendo Switch. The game will also be on sale on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One this weekend, dropping down to $23.99. The Switch version is not on sale.
Final Kombat is not the only event being affected by the spread of the coronavirus. Today the organizers of SXSW announced that the event has been cancelled. The Games Developers Conference was postponed due to many companies dropping out of the event due to health concerns.
