Mortal Kombat 1 How to Unlock All Characters

This guide explains how to unlock all Characters in Mortal Kombat 1 (2023). There are 38 Characters total: 23 Main Characters and 15 Kameo Characters. However, only 21 Main Characters and 10 Kameo Characters are available from the start. The remaining 2 Main Characters and 5 Kameo Characters must be manually unlocked before they can be used.

How to Unlock All Characters

1. Shang Tsung = From Pre-Order Exclusive DLC (must have pre-ordered the game). There’s no other way to unlock him in-game. If you didn’t pre-order the game before release you won’t have access to this character.
2. Havik = Finish the Main Kampaign Story Mode to unlock
3. Scorpion (Kameo) = Reach Profile Level 5 to unlock
4. Sub-Zero (Kameo) = Reach Profile Level 10 to unlock
5. Kung Lao (Kameo) = Reach Profile Level 15 to unlock
6. Shujinko (Kameo) = Reach Profile Level 20 to unlock
7. Motaro (Kameo) = Reach Profile Level 25 to unlock

The fastest way to increase Profile Level is by playing Invasion Mode and always finish fights with a BRUTALITY (for final hit while the enemy still has some health remaining, do an uppercut by holding DOWN+TRIANGLE / DOWN+Y). You can check how much XP you got from a match by pressing TRIANGLE/Y in the results screen. When you do Brutalities you get more XP than from Fatality Finishers. To speed it up further, set Matches to 1 Round and 60 Seconds, this can be done in Main Menu > Settings > Gameplay > Rounds to Win = 1. If you manage to get flawless victories (don’t take damage) you get an even bigger XP bonus. Reaching Profile Level 25 can be done in about 10 hours if playing Invasion Mode. It’s slower in Tower Matches because they always force 2 rounds and give fewer XP per match than Invasion Mode gives.

Mortal Kombat 1 All Characters List – Full Roster

Below are all available fighters at the time of the game’s release. Main Characters are the playable characters you control. Kameo Characters are secondary support characters that can be summoned during fights but they have a cooldown and can only do one attack before disappearing. Kameo Characters are mainly used to string together combos or surprise the opponent, you can give them commands through button inputs (determines when and how they will attack) but can’t walk around as them or fully play as these characters.

All Playable Main Characters (23 total):

1. Kitana
2. Mileena
3. Tanya
4. Rain
5. Shang Tsung
6. General Shao
7. Sindel
8. Reiko
9. Smoke
10. Scorpion
11. Sub-Zero
12. Reptile
13. Raiden
14. Liu Kang
15. Johnny Cage
16. Kung Lao
17. Li Mei
18. Kenshi
19. Baraka
20. Geras
21. Ashrah
22. Nitara
23. Havik

All Secondary Kameo Characters (15 total):

1. Darrius (Kameo)
2. Sareena (Kameo)
3. Cyrax (Kameo)
4. Kano (Kameo)
5. Sonya (Kameo)
6. Sektor (Kameo)
7. Frost (Kameo)
8. Jax (Kameo)
9. Stryker (Kameo)
10. Scorpion (Kameo)
11. Sub-Zero (Kameo)
12. Kung Lao (Kameo)
13. Shujinko (Kameo)
14. Motaro (Kameo)
15. Goro (Kameo)

More characters will be added through future DLC. Also see How to Perform All Secret Fatalities (Button Inputs).