Update: What Does Mortal Kombat 11's Monetization Look Like?

Update:

The details regarding Mortal Kombat's monetization are trickling in. At the PSN and Xbox stores Time Krystal amounts have been posted:

• 500 Time Krystals - $4.99
• 1150 Time Krystals - $9.99
• 2500 Time Krystals - $19.99
• 5600 Time Krystals - $39.99

Furthermore, Shao Kahn is available for $5.99

Original Story:

Mortal Kombat 11 features a number of modes, such as Towers of Time and the Krypt, which dole out rewards like character skins. You can get these skins in exchange for either currencies you amass by playing the game, or by completing challenges, many of which are brutally difficult even with the consumable items you can use to help make these battles easier.

We knew there would be a way to purchase some skins and possibly circumvent these grinds, but we didn't know exactly what that looked like. The premium shop for Mortal Kombat 11 is now live. Here are the initial offerings.

As you can see, you can purchase a total of five cosmetic items right now: two skins, one intro, one taunt, and one "Kombat Kard" decal (which is basically a profile background). The timers in the store indicate these items rotate out every day or so, though how random this rotation is remains unknown. Will there always only be two character skins for purchase at a time? Or could the store potentially offer five skins at some point?

Each item tells you where you could otherwise earn that specific reward, whether it's an unlockable in the Krypt, a reward in Towers of Time, or something you get from playing A.I. battles. Another question here: There aren't any skins from Towers of Time in this initial offering. Is that just a coincidence, or will those skins (which can be difficult to earn on their own) not be on the table? We'll have to wait for the items to refresh to find out.

The skins cost 500 Time Krystals, and as you can see, after playing quite a bit of the game, I'm at profile level 3, have played through the entire story mode, done a ton of the A.I. battles, completed the tutorial, and have only 570. The Jax character intro is 750 Time Krystals, so I can't even buy that one. The taunt is 200 Krystals, while the profile icon is 100. It might be somewhat telling that the most expensive thing is from Towers of Time, but again, we'll have to wait until the store refreshes to see if the mode in which you otherwise earn a reward affects its price.

You can also purchase Easy Fatality Tokens, but not Skip Fight Tokens or experience boosters (as of right now, anyway). You can get five tokens for 100 Krystals, or 40 for 500, or 100 for 1,000.

Overall, I'm a bit mixed on this particular aspect of the game. While I like that I can skip difficult Towers of Time challenges with Time Krystals to get the skin I want, I'm not necessarily doing it to save time – I'm doing it because some of those challenges are frustratingly difficult, and that shouldn't be the incentive to spend additional money on the game. I'm also bothered by the fact that you can't just purchase whatever skin you want, and instead have to wait for it to rotate in.

Another question that's still in play is price. How much do Time Krystals cost? The PlayStation Store market for the game isn't live yet, so that crucial piece of the puzzle is still missing. We'll dive into the store as soon as it's live and update this piece.

For more on Mortal Kombat 11, check out what you can and can't do with the game offline, as well as the rest of what Mortal Kombat 11 has to offer in our exclusive coverage hub below.