Speculation around Injustice 3 has intensified after a paid California playtest was advertised for an unreleased AAA 2D fighting game. The listing is genuine and sought highly ranked fighting game players for in-person testing in Culver City on September 14 and 15. Nothing in the recruitment material identifies NetherRealm Studios, Warner Bros. Games or Injustice, however, so the connection remains an informed theory rather than confirmation.
The test was organized through Good Gamer Group and research company Ten/O, with selected participants offered $250 for a four-hour session. Applicants were expected to rank within the top 25% of players in a major competitive 2D fighter, with Street Fighter 6, Guilty Gear Strive, Granblue Fantasy Versus and The King of Fighters cited as examples. The listing described the project as an unreleased AAA title and said participants would play it before providing feedback to the development team.
Those requirements have naturally narrowed speculation toward major fighting-game publishers, but the Culver City location is not definitive evidence of who is behind the project. Good Gamer Group itself operates in the area, while Capcom also has a local presence and Warner Bros. Discovery maintains operations in Culver City. The test could therefore involve a project from any publisher using an external research facility rather than taking place at the developer’s own studio.
Injustice 3 has nevertheless become one of the leading theories because of earlier signs surrounding NetherRealm’s next projects. In April, MP1st reported that a Warner Bros. Games artist’s public résumé listed Injustice 3 among projects they had worked on, alongside other Warner Bros. titles. The listing was subsequently treated as evidence that a third Injustice game may be in development, although neither Warner Bros. Games nor NetherRealm has formally announced one.
NetherRealm creative director Ed Boon has also acknowledged that the studio has multiple projects underway without identifying all of them. Speaking earlier this year, Boon said the team was “definitely pursuing” another Mortal Kombat game while also saying it was doing more beyond that project. He stopped short of confirming Injustice 3 when specifically asked about it, leaving room for multiple games to be in development at different stages.
The mystery playtest fits NetherRealm’s established style of fighting games in a broad sense. Both Mortal Kombat and Injustice use a primarily two-dimensional fighting plane despite being rendered with 3D characters and environments, making the description of a major 2D fighting game compatible with the studio’s work. That compatibility is not enough to identify the project on its own, especially when Capcom and other publishers could also fit the listing.
The timing has also contributed to the speculation. NetherRealm ended major new content development for Mortal Kombat 1 after releasing its final expansion and fighters, while Injustice 2 has now been without a sequel since 2017. A competitive playtest for an unannounced AAA fighter would suggest that whatever game is involved has progressed far enough for outside players to evaluate balance and gameplay, but it does not reveal how close the project might be to an announcement or release.
Alternative possibilities remain open. Earlier discussion around the listing included potential Capcom projects such as another crossover fighter, while the test’s examples of Street Fighter, Guilty Gear, Granblue Fantasy Versus and The King of Fighters indicate only the type of competitive experience organizers wanted from participants. No characters, mechanics, platforms or intellectual property were disclosed in the recruitment notice.
For now, the strongest confirmed information is that an unreleased AAA 2D fighting game underwent paid testing in Culver City with experienced competitive players on September 14 and 15. Previous Injustice 3 rumors make NetherRealm’s DC fighter a plausible candidate, but there is still no direct evidence tying this particular test to Warner Bros. or NetherRealm. Until either company announces its next project, the identity of the mystery fighter remains unconfirmed.
