The speculation is true – the latest issue of EGM confirms that Halo 3’s co-op (which will exist offline, with player two playing as the Arbiter) is not currently online. Bungie is working to get the feature implemented, but currently it isn’t happening. Considering they have a very limited amount of time left to work on the game, it seems highly unlikely that online co-op will make it into the retail version of the game. Of course, we could always get it through a patch or downloadable content down the road – but so help me if it costs even a penny.

“We’re not dumb,” says Bungie’s Frank O’Conner. “We know that people want it and we’re trying to make it happen. I think the biggest problem for us for online co-op is that we have a situation where you can be in a Warthog with five troops, almost a mile away from the other player. That’s a significant challenge. And there’s lots of design things you could do to prevent that from happening, but they would make it not feel like Halo anymore. If we can make it happen in a way that works well, we will - and if it works badly, we won’t.”

A smattering of other things are revealed in the EGM story, as well, including new weapons and gear: the Flare (flashbang), the Mauler (dual-wieldable Brute shotgun),the Gravity Hammer (according to CVG it sends vehicles flying), and the Regenerator (opposite of the power drainer). New vehicles include the Prowler, Hornet, and Elephant. They don’t sound quite as cool as Ghosts, Banshees and Warthogs, but hopefully they play well. Additionally, a remake of the popular Halo 2 map Lockout was revealed, now known as Guardian.