Which Mortal Kombat game was the first in the series rendered entirely with 3D graphics?

Mortal Kombat 4 was the first Mortal Kombat game rendered entirely with 3D graphics.

Released in arcades in 1997, Mortal Kombat 4 moved the series from digitized actors and 2D stages into polygonal character models and three-dimensional environments. It retained familiar fundamentals such as special moves, fatalities, and arena combat while adding weapon use and limited movement around the fighting area.

Mortal Kombat 4 was developed by Midway Games and followed Mortal Kombat 3 and its expanded update, Mortal Kombat Trilogy. Its story focused on the fallen Elder God Shinnok and his attempt to conquer the realms, bringing characters such as Quan Chi into a central role.

The game is sometimes confused with Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, which also used 3D presentation and followed it several years later. Deadly Alliance was not the series’ first fully 3D entry; that distinction belongs to Mortal Kombat 4.