Ed Boon explained why the plot was rebooted in Mortal Kombat 1

MK writers have been experimenting with time for a long time.

In Mortal Kombat 1, players were offered a reimagined universe. Familiar characters have taken on different roles and images.

Recently, MK creator Ed Boon explained the approach to development:

"...In every game, we wanted the stakes to be higher, for the bosses to be more dangerous and bigger. In Mortal Kombat X, we made a jump forward in time, all the characters became 25 years older, they had children and all that..."

The idea of a reboot came about because the developers reached the point where they simply could not imagine anything more powerful:

"[...] The main reason we did the reboot is because [the plot] got so big that we felt the only way out was to shrink it again."