Mortal Kombat achieved notoriety not just for its graphic violence and gore, but for its secrets. Series co-creator Ed Boon has sneaked secret characters — almost always palette-swapped ninjas — into the games for more than 30 years. Now, it appears that Boon and company are hinting that another new secret ninja is coming to Mortal Kombat 1: Floyd.
Yes, Floyd, as in Pink Floyd, because in 2022, Boon responded to a fan on Twitter, “I honestly want to make a PINK ninja and name him FLOYD” when asked if he ever wanted to create a new ninja character for Mortal Kombat. (Boon is the guy who created a purple ninja named Rain because he liked Prince so much, after all.)
Now, it appears that Floyd’s time has come. Players who have gotten early hands on with Mortal Kombat 1’s newest DLC character, Conan the Barbarian, have been getting strong hints about Floyd’s debut, though just how this pink ninja will ultimately appear is still a mystery.
Floyd the ninja’s addition to Mortal Kombat lore appears to have been spotted first by fighting game YouTuber Super. He noticed that Floyd’s name (accompanied by an electric guitar lick) would sometimes appear on screen at the end of fights while playing as Conan on the Living Forest stage. That stage is famously where secret characters like Jade and Smoke would pop up in Mortal Kombat 2, further lending credence to Floyd’s status as a new ninja kombatant.
But it’s unclear how MK1 players will battle (or play as) Floyd. Super never actually encountered the supposed secret ninja during his playtime.
Some players thought they got their first glimpse of Floyd in MK1 months ago, as computer-controlled opponents playing as Shang Tsung sometimes transform into a pink male ninja. However, that is simply one of many Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3-inspired transformations that Shang Tsung can perform, and the pink male ninja he becomes is actually a gender-swapped version of Mileena. Shang can also become a male Kitana, another option made possible thanks to MK1’s multiverse story. That said, MK1 developer NetherRealm Studios could repurpose the male Mileena as the basis for Floyd, if and when he shows up in the game.
Mortal Kombat 1 already has strong ninja representation. The game’s main roster includes all of the mainline male ninjas — Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Rain, Reptile, Smoke, Noob Saibot, and Ermac — and Kameo Fighter versions of Tremor, Khameleon, Frost, Cyrax, Sektor, classic Sub-Zero, and classic Scorpion.
Conan the Barbarian — and maybe even Floyd the pink ninja — comes to Mortal Kombat 1 on Tuesday. Conan is included as part of the game’s Khaos Reigns expansion, which promises one more fighter still to come: the Terminator T-1000.
