More than 30 years ago, Mortal Kombat hit arcades, kicking off the hyper-violent franchise that now spans numerous video games, big-budget movies, comic books, and even an animated series. Soon, fans can get an inside look at the franchise’s gore-spattered history thanks to the upcoming art book, Mortal Kombat: Flawless Victory, written by Ian Flynn–the lead writer of IDW Publishing’s Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and Sonic Frontiers. The $50 hardcover book will be released on August 5, 2025, and is available for preorder at Amazon.
If you’re a fan of gaming history, you can check out several other books right now covering various consoles and games. Game Boy enthusiasts will want to check out The Game Boy Encyclopedia–a book that explores the hundreds of games released for the handheld–by veteran video game journalist Chris Scullion, who has also authored several other books on the topic,
The Video Game Encyclopedia Series
The Sega Genesis EncyclopediaHardcover — $31.47 ($40)Paperback — $24 ($33)The Sega Dreamcast Encyclopedia — $33.40 ($40)The NES EncyclopediaHardcover — $30.27Paperback — $23 ($30)The SNES EncyclopediaHardcover — $28 ($40)Paperback — $23 ($30)The N64 EncyclopediaHardcover — $30 ($40)Paperback — $30 | Preorder, releases November 30The GameBoy Encyclopedia — $43 | Preorder, releases November 30
There are also deep dives into Nintendo written by Florent Gorge, as the long-awaited translations of the third and fourth volumes in The History of Nintendo series are also up for preorder. If you ever wanted to read up on the secret history of the iconic video game company, then books like The History Of the Famicom/NES and The History Of The Game Boy are essential reading. Lastly, you can also check out the superb hardcovers produced by Bitmap Books. These cover a wide range of topics, from box art to horror games, and they’re some of the best coffee table books around if you’re looking for something that’s easy on the eyes.
More gaming history books
From Ants to Zombies: Six Decades of Video Game Horror — $42.50N64: A Visual Compendium (Hardcover) — $50NES/Famicom: A Visual Compendium (Hardcover) — $61.18Super NES/Super Famicom: A Visual Compendium (Hardcover) — $58The SNES Pixel Book (Hardcover) — $64Game Boy: The Box Art Collection (Hardcover) — $62The Secret History of Mac Gaming: Expanded Edition (Hardcover) — $53Commodore 64: A Visual Compendium (Hardcover) — $48.31Commodore Amiga: A Visual Compendium (Hardcover) — $47Artcade: Book of Classic Arcade Game Art (Hardcover) — $63Metal Slug: The Ultimate History (Hardcover) — $69
