The
Mortal Kombat series of
fighting games, created by
Ed Boon and
John Tobias, has been the subject of various
controversies since its creation in the 1990s. In particular,
Mortal Kombat has often been criticised from a broad spectrum of politicians and other critics for its unrestrained use of graphic and bloody violence (both in the game's regular combat scenes and its
fatalities—finishing moves which allow the player to kill or otherwise maim opponent characters). The violent nature of the series, one of the earliest of its kind, has led to the creation and continued presence of the
Entertainment Software Rating Board and other ratings boards for video games. Various
Mortal Kombat games have been
censored or banned in several countries, and the franchise was the subject of several court cases.