Midway "making Mortal Kombat 7" for PlayStation 3, Xbox 2 and wireless - Zucker

Midway Games CEO David Zucker has taken the rather surprising step of revealing that a seventh Mortal Kombat beat-'em-up is planned for PlayStation 3, Xbox 2 and a third wireless platform.

Judging by a statement made by Zucker at the RBC Capital Markets North American Technology Conference in California, the next chapter in the series is already undergoing development.

"We're making Mortal Kombat 7," he told the audience - and a webcast, which picked up on his comments. "We'll have a PS3 SKU and an Xbox 2 SKU and we'll have a wireless SKU." Obviously he made no mention of a possible release date.

Although Mortal Kombat is one of Midway's most popular franchises and next-generation versions were expected, it's still unusual to hear anything this candid about future console software - particularly as neither platform has been officially announced yet.

Meanwhile, members of the Mortal Kombat: Deception development team have also commented - albeit briefly - on future instalments, although producer John Podlasek and programmer Nick Shin appeared to distance themselves from any current development.

"I can say that it's probably a safe bet that there will be another MK title in the works sooner than later," Podlasek commented. "What, when, where, etc are obviously still up in the air at the moment."

Mortal Kombat: Deception, the sixth game in the series, is due out on PS2 and Xbox this October.