Mortal Kombat is an American media franchise focusing on a series of video games, originally developed by the company Midway Games in 1992. Initially, the development of the first game was based on an idea. It was an idea by Ed Boon and John Tobias, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, but when that idea fell through, they decided to come up with another idea for a fantasy-themed fighting game. The developers paid homage to him with the character Johnny Cage, a fictional movie star whose personal style resembles Van Damme. Mortal Kombat is the first fighting game to introduce the unlocking of a mysterious fighter only after the player fulfills certain requirements in the game.

The original game spawned numerous sequels and spinoffs, including several action-adventure games, as well as a manga and a card game. Film producer Lawrence Kasanoff licensed the game in the early 1990s and produced the franchise's first film. Kasanoff also produced a second film, an animated television series, a live-action television series, the first platinum-selling album, and a live-action tour. Mortal Kombat has become the best-selling fighting game franchise worldwide and one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.

The series is known for its high level of violence, most notably Fatalities (brutal finishing moves that allow players to brutally finish off opponents after being defeated). Controversy surrounds Mortal Kombat in part led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board video game rating system. The first games in the series also drew attention for their digitization of realistic sprites and extensive use of palette swapping to create new characters. After the bankruptcy of Midway, the Mortal Kombat development team was acquired by Warner Bros. Entertainment acquired and reorganized as NetherRealm Studios.