Yes that’s right! Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has today announced that a new Mortal Kombat head-to-head fighting game is in development for the Xbox 360 and PS3, slated for release in 2011.

And get this:

It’s in 2D.

No not that 2D, silly. Think along the lines of (Super) Street Fighter IV, with fully 3D, polygonal characters and environments, but viewed in a 2D perspective.

This new Mortal Kombat game is under works at development outfit NetherRealm Studios, under the watchful eye of franchise co-creator Ed Boon.

“We can’t wait for players to get their hands on Mortal Kombat,” Boon exclaimed in a most un-Mortal Kombat manner – in a press release. “This game really is a response to what players have been demanding: mature presentation, reinvented 2D fighting mechanic and the best, most gruesome fatalities ever!”

President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Martin Tremblay also mentioned:

“We are bringing the Mortal Kombat franchise back to gamers with the talented NetherRealm Studios team creating the game fans long to play. Re-establishing the brand with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Mortal Kombat innovates on past games while staying true to the brand’s legendary characters and fighting style.”

In addition to standard 1 VS 1 battles to the death (which now include the wonderfully gory Fatality system again), and the inclusion of “the deepest story mode of any fighting game,” Mortal Kombat is set to introduce a number of new game modes, as well as “the most extensive online experience ever seen in a fighting game,” with four player tag-team battles and two-player cooperative Arcade Mode, or the ability to compete against another team online.

Watch the debut trailer for Mortal Kombat below:

Mortal Kombat Trailer

This news arrives just one day after the emergence of that Mortal Kombat short film. Coincidence?

Probably…

I mean, no, it’s not a coincidence! Something is afoot…