After Street Fighter 6, the time has come for Mortal Kombat 1 to go live. Officially scheduled for a September 19 full release, WB Games has, however, already made the game available for players in early access who purchased the Premium and Kollector’s editions. But as is the case with any other game that is released in early access, Mortal Kombat 1 too has a bunch of issues that players are currently dealing with. Among the many, the cannot host or join lobby matchmaking error is a major one, along with the infinite loading screen and early access not working issues.
Fighting games are fun with AI, but even more so with real players. That’s why every single fighting game has some kind of multiplayer of sorts. Mortal Kombat 1 does too, but this particular error is preventing players from playing online multiplayer matches. We don’t know the reason, but what we do know is that the error keeps showing up whenever the player tries online matchmaking. So, is there a fix for this? Let’s find out!
Mortal Kombat 1 (MK1) Cannot host or join lobby Matchmaking Error: Is there any fix yet
MK1 is a fresh release, and as such, it’s yet to receive an official fix for this. Currently, the following workarounds are your best shot at fixing this error.
Disable VPN –
If you’re using a VPN and playing the game at the same time, we suggest you disable it. Unless you are a fan of constant network interruptions and slow speeds, don’t use a VPN when trying to do anything online in Mortal Kombat 1. And by the way, this also applies to other multiplayer games as well.
Update the game –
Console users received an update for the game that fixed certain issues and made improvements to matchmaking and online play. We suggest you make sure to run the updated version of the game to avoid running into any major issues. PC players will need to wait a while for a patch update to be released.
Allow the game through the firewall –
Windows firewall is not a perfect system. While it certainly excels at what it is intended to do, there are lots of instances where it will just outright block an application’s access to the internet for some strange reason. It’s the same with Defender, which is known to put out false positives at times. The best prevention and remedy for the firewall problem is to simply allow MK1 through the firewall. You can do this by following the given steps:
- Open Windows Settings and select Update & Security.
- From Windows Security, click on Firewall & Network Protection.
- In the new window, scroll down and select the “Allow an app through firewall” option.
- Before you do anything, click on the Change Settings button located at the top. Give admin permission when prompted.
- Now, find Mortal Kombat 1 in the list below. If it isn’t there, then click on Allow another app to browse and add the game’s .exe from its installation directory.
- Next, checkmark the Private and Public options beside MK1. Finish the process by clicking OK.
Check the game server status –
It just so happens that issues like this are quite common when a game’s server is down for maintenance or other reasons. Developers generally inform players about anything server-related on the game’s socials. So, visit the official Discord server or Twitter (X) handle of Mortal Kombat 1 to check for updates regarding server status. If the servers are down, then you will have to wait.
Restart –
You can also go the restart route and hope it works. First, perform a quick restart of the game, and then check if the issue persists. If it does, then restart your router. Now, perform the same check once again. If the issue continues to occur, then move on to the next workaround.
Switch to wired connection/Mobile Hotspot –
If you are using a wireless connection, connect to the internet using an Ethernet cable. A wired connection is more stable, plus the chances of interference are lower. Now, try accessing the game’s multiplayer mode. Additionally, you can also try performing a factory reset on the router and then connecting your device. If that didn’t fix the issue, consider switching your network, preferably to a mobile hotspot.
Run Commands on CMD –
For this workaround, you need to open the Command Prompt. To do so, press Windows+R, and type cmd. Now, press Enter. In the CMD window, enter the following commands one by one, and press Enter after each.
- ipconfig /flushdns
- ipconfig /release
- ipconfig /renew
- netsh winsock reset
- netsh int ip reset
- netsh interface ipv4 reset
- netsh interface ipv6 reset
- netsh interface tcp reset
Once you are done, launch the game, and check whether you are able to access its multiplayer features. That said, we hope this guide was informative. For more guides and information on Mortal Kombat 1, follow DigiStatement. Also read: Mortal Kombat 1 (MK1) Stuttering & FPS Drops Issue: Is there any fix yet
