A listing for a mystery playtest describes an “unreleased AAA 2D fighting game”. The project is unnamed, but the available clues strongly suggest it could be NetherRealm Studios’ unannounced Injustice 3.
The listing was first highlighted by EventHubs. While nothing has been confirmed, the details narrow the field considerably. It is a useful piece of arcade news for fighting-game fans watching the next generation of competitive titles.
Why other fighting games seem unlikely
The playtest specifically refers to a 2D fighting game. That appears to rule out several announced projects, including Virtua Fighter Crossroads and Dead or Alive 7, both of which are 3D fighters.
The description also calls the project a AAA production. That makes Melty Blood: Type Lumina an unlikely match, despite its place in the modern 2D fighting-game scene. Beyond that, no publicly announced AAA 2D fighter neatly fits the description, leaving an unannounced project as the most plausible explanation.
That naturally raises another question: why assume the game is Injustice 3 rather than something such as Street Fighter 7?
The Culver City connection
The strongest clue may be the playtest location: Culver City, California. NetherRealm Studios is based in Chicago, Illinois, but its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, has headquarters in both New York and Culver City. The location can be viewed through this Culver City project reference.
That does not prove NetherRealm is involved, but it creates a notable connection between the undisclosed test and the company behind the Injustice series.
NetherRealm has been preparing for its next game
NetherRealm’s most recent release was Mortal Kombat 1 in 2023. Since then, the studio has advertised numerous new roles, providing further evidence that development on another project has been progressing. Recent reporting has also examined those recruitment efforts.
There has also been a possible cast-related clue. Phil LaMarr and George Newbern, who voiced Aquaman and Superman respectively in the first two Injustice games, were reported in 2025 to have potentially accidentally revealed that they would return for an unannounced Injustice 3. Both performers appeared to retreat from those comments soon afterwards, so the claim remains unverified.
What the playtest listing actually tells us
The playtest page offers very little beyond the “AAA 2D fighting game” description and the Culver City location. Those details are suggestive rather than conclusive, and Warner Bros. Discovery and NetherRealm have not confirmed that Injustice 3 is the project being tested.
Another possibility is the DCKO mobile game Warner Bros. announced in July. However, the available description does not make that title appear to be a likely fit for a AAA 2D fighting-game playtest.
For now, the combination of NetherRealm’s hiring activity, the Warner Bros. Discovery location and the earlier cast speculation makes Injustice 3 the leading theory. Fighting-game fans will need an official announcement before the mystery can be settled.
If the project eventually reaches arcade-style hardware, readers considering a home setup can compare arcade machines or use RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide to plan a suitable fighting-game station.
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