07.12.07
Four Player Co-op in Halo 3 Confirmed by Microsoft VP Jeff Bell
In an interview with Major Nelson/Larry Hryb that was just posted on Xbox.com, Microsoft Vice President of Global Marketing, Jeff Bell, was being interviewed about his thoughts on the Xbox 360. It’s a great interview, and right at the end of it, he is talking about how co-op with his son was the reason he loved Halo and Halo 2, he then says the following:
“Now, we’re really looking forward to playing with my three sons, all together on Halo 3.”
He said earlier in the interview that he has three sons, ages 10, 14, and 18. Four person co-op was already semi-known due to code of it being found during the beta, but this is the closest thing to a confirmation we’re going to get until Bungie finally admits it, which I would expect to be soon.
Above: The new four-person Warthog, debuting in Halo 3.
Jeff Bell Video Interview
Major Nelson talks to Microsoft’s Vice President of Global Marketing about E3.
High | Low
This is not the first time Jeff Bell has done this. He also let it slip a few months ago that Gears of War is being planned as a trilogy in this interview.
We speak with Microsoft’s Jeff Bell about the company’s Xbox 360 marketing strategy, part of which obviously involves the blockbuster Gears of War. Bell also seemed to confirm that Gears is indeed being planned as a trilogy.
“The goal of the ad is to establish Marcus Fenix as the hero of the Gears of War trilogy,” Jeff Bell, Microsoft Corporate VP of Global Marketing, Interactive Entertainment Business
I also posted my findings at Bungie.net forums & various Xbox.com forums -


Atomicow said,
July 13, 2007 at 12:04 am
I don’t know. He might have been referring to playing multiplayer, and not coop.
I can see 2 player no problem, what with the Arbiter being by the Chiefs side so much, but 4 player just doesn’t seem like it would work. Imagine playing along and coming across a point where you need to get in a warthog. 3 guys would drive off and the other would get to take a nice long walk.
Kingdom of One said,
July 13, 2007 at 3:16 am
While I’d like to think he meant 4 player co-op over Live, he probably means playing on the same team in Team Deathmatch. Besides if this was a confirmation of a major gameplay feature of HALO 3, they would have either edited the interview or pulled it all together. But I do hope your right.
i agree said,
July 13, 2007 at 3:40 am
that right, if they were to say it was co op they would, if you have seen the campaign trailer the only characters you could really play as is the master chief and the arbiter. 4 player is just for custom games of matchmaking
DavidGX said,
July 13, 2007 at 7:02 am
Dude, guys, check this out: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=26704
The ps3 price cut was FAKE. As soon as they new “cheaper” 60gig PS3 models sell out.. that’s it. They aren’t making any more.
In about a month the only ps3 that you’ll be able to buy will be the $600 80gig version w/ motorstorm.
So now not only do we HAVE to buy a blu-ray player, but a mediocre racing game.
Too funny for words lol
Caleb said,
July 13, 2007 at 9:12 am
4 player co-op would dominate, crap I hope that it’s legit. I have to admit I never owned an original Xbox but the 360 converted me. I don’t think that I can be anymore hyped for Halo 3 than I am now and that’s saying a lot considering the fact that I the only I have been able to to play the series is because it’s backwards compatable.
Asky314159 said,
July 13, 2007 at 3:17 pm
What I wouldn’t give for Bungie to announce 4-player co-op in the weekly update tomorrow…
UNSCleric said,
July 13, 2007 at 4:49 pm
I would say confirmation will come really soon.
Hyper123.net » Blog Archive » Four Player Co-op in Halo 3 Confirmed by Microsoft VP Jeff Bell said,
July 13, 2007 at 7:51 pm
[…] read more | digg story […]
MooG said,
July 13, 2007 at 8:05 pm
“Now, we’re really looking forward to playing with my three sons, all together on Halo 3.”
This clearly refers to there being a 4 player co-op offline. Why would he want to play with his 3 sons over xbox live? I’m also assuming that you can do it over Live as well.
Scott said,
July 13, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Atomicow mentioned that you can only get 3 guys in a warthog.. but i guess he didnt watch the trailer in which there is a 4-seater..
the lack of playable characters is a good point… who wants to play as a marine when you can be MC? are there any other spartans alive besides MC? like that chick spartan from the tv ad.. he should bone her.. spartan style like 300.
that being said the way he says it sounds like he thought this video wouldnt be online until after bungie announced 4 player co-op.. good looks cleric
Drew said,
July 13, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Lol, executives.
UNSCleric said,
July 13, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Why are people so concerned about who the playable characters would be, like it’s something that needs to gel with the story? Halo and Halo 2 just have you play as two Spartans, whereas the game story says you’re the last Spartan, and the story/cut-scenes sure as hell don’t factor in a second Spartan either.
UNSCleric said,
July 13, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Just hit #1 on Digg.com’s Gaming and Xbox 360 page, thanks to everyone who digging the story, it’s getting about 5 Diggs a second suddenly, it means a lot, thanks.
Andrei said,
July 13, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Well, I’m sure most of you are aware of that leaked halo 3 script or whatever a while back. Almost everyone called libel, but the new campaign trailer kinda supports it.
Remember how in the script, Arbiter had a son? Well notice how in the campaign trailer in that scene with Cortana being in some sort of pain and MC & Arbiter watching her, there’s another person in the background (behind Guilty Spark..or whoever that drone thing in the trailer is). The body looks pretty much identical to Arbiter’s. The only difference I could spot is that he has green (or maybe it was yellow, I don’t recall) lights on his chest plate.
Basically what I’m getting at here is that Halo 3 could introduce several more main characters (i.e. Arbiter’s son), so 4-player coop could very well be possible.
Queen 0f Blades said,
July 13, 2007 at 8:38 pm
Scott: “are there any other spartans alive besides MC?”
Yes, according to the novels. They give you some numbers, but if you do the math, there are a handful of Spartans that are unaccounted for. So yes, there are other Spartans, and I’d have to guess they would be your other partners if there is 4-person co-op.
And for those of you saying, “but that wouldn’t make sense, the MC is the only spartan left!” Yeah, but look at Halo: CE and Halo 2. Your partner was a Spartan then, and that didn’t make sense either. But who the hell cares, you’re having fun with your friends and that’s what matters.
Cartoons Fans Lounge said,
July 13, 2007 at 8:51 pm
[…] 2, he then says… X Men officialread more | digg story RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI Cartoons Fans Lounge Syndicate entries using RSS and Comments (RSS). varsc_project=2128341; var sc_invisible=1; var sc_partition=19; var sc_security=”4faa61d0″; […]
UNSCleric said,
July 13, 2007 at 8:56 pm
“And for those of you saying, “but that wouldn’t make sense, the MC is the only spartan left!” Yeah, but look at Halo: CE and Halo 2. Your partner was a Spartan then, and that didn’t make sense either. But who the hell cares, you’re having fun with your friends and that’s what matters.”
Exactly, that’s what I just said over on the Digg.com article too. It’s not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.
Scott said,
July 13, 2007 at 9:13 pm
i agree thats theres gonna be a 4 player co-op, thats why i said good looks, i think you nailed this one cleric. I was just wondering who they could be and queen of blades and andrei answered my question.
jake said,
July 13, 2007 at 9:18 pm
sounds cool but there copiing off of sonys 4 player co-op on socom CA
cheaaa
Voteboob - A Sex Blog Experiment - Vote on Boobs! said,
July 13, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Jake: “sounds cool but there copiing off of sonys 4 player co-op on socom CA
cheaaa”
Considering that Microsoft has virtually perfected co-op on Xbox Live, this is a natural progression. See Gears, Rainbow Six et al. Ghost recon (released 2 years ago) has up to 16 player co-op.
In any case, 4 player co-op is going to be all out war.
Black Guard said,
July 13, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Uh, games have had four player co-op since the 80’s, they’re not really copying anyone.
Halo 3 4 Co-op PLayer almost confirmed - Se7en Sins Forums said,
July 13, 2007 at 10:20 pm
[…] Halo 3 4 Co-op PLayer almost confirmed http://www.unscleric.com/news/2007/0…-vp-jeff-bell/ Quote: In an interview with Major Nelson/Larry Hryb that was just posted on Xbox.com, Microsoft Vice President of Global Marketing, Jeff Bell, was being interviewed about his thoughts on the Xbox 360. Its a great interview, and right at the end of it, he is talking about how co-op with his son was the reason he loved Halo and Halo 2, he then says the following: Now, were really looking forward to playing with my three sons, all together on Halo 3. He had said earlier in the interview that he had three sons, ages 10, 14, and 18. Four person co-op was already semi-known due to code of it being found during the beta, but this is the closest thing to a confirmation were going to get until Bungie finally admits it. This is not the first time Jeff Bell has done this. He also let it slip a few months ago that Gears of War is being planned as a trilogy in this interview. We speak with Microsofts Jeff Bell about the companys Xbox 360 marketing strategy, part of which obviously involves the blockbuster Gears of War. Bell also seemed to confirm that Gears is indeed being planned as a trilogy. The goal of the ad is to establish Marcus Fenix as the hero of the Gears of War trilogy, Jeff Bell, Microsoft Corporate VP of Global Marketing, Interactive Entertainment Business I also posted my findings at Bungie.net forums & various Xbox.com forums - […]
keepinithamsta said,
July 14, 2007 at 1:32 am
For all you people saying there’s no Spartans left besides Master Chief, you’re far from the truth. Three SPARTANS who grew up and trained directly with the chief are still far from dead. Kelly-087 an agile SPARTAN who specializes in recon, Fred-104 who prefers close quarters combat, Linda-058 a sniper who hates not exploiting her skills. We all know Chief is an all around SPARTAN and holds command as his primary skill. Read Ghosts of Onyx and you’ll have proof that all three survive. Plus, put them together and they would be a well rounded team. If co-op makes it to final release, this is no doubt the squad which players control.
Admiral Madden said,
July 14, 2007 at 2:14 am
i think that this could be legit, as mentioned earlier, there are three living spartans, one would know this from the books, but Kelly doesn’t even really need to be in the game, (due to being with dr halsey) you could always just replace her with the arbiter…
as for the warthog problem, this could be easily avoided by either putting two or more warthogs to commandeer at vehicular parts, or by allowing people to hang off the sides of a hog, possibly cram themselves between the gun and the seats…
it just seem plausible, thats all i’m saying…
~Admiral Madden~
Admiral Madden said,
July 14, 2007 at 2:19 am
perhaps the armour permutations were made to accompany each one of the surviving spartans?
just another thought
Video Game News » Blog Archive » Halo 3 four player co-op semi confirmed said,
July 14, 2007 at 8:18 am
[…] [Via UNSCleric, Thanks to everyone who sent this in] […]
oD Guardian said,
July 14, 2007 at 12:25 pm
@Atomicow
You sir…apparently dont know much about how Halo Campaign is…usually on every occasion that needs a vehicle, they provide multiple vehicles if you dont blow them up that is, to help you get through the levels faster. Perhaps in 3, they could have multiple hogs, mongoose’s and whatever kind of vehicle they can find.
Aggravated Gamers » Four Player Co-op in Halo 3 Confirmed by Microsoft VP Jeff Bell said,
July 14, 2007 at 5:17 pm
[…] In an interview with Major Nelson/Larry Hryb that was just posted on Xbox.com, Microsoft Vice President of Global Marketing, Jeff Bell, was being interviewed about his thoughts on the Xbox 360. It’s a great interview, and right at the end of it, he is talking about how co-op with his son was the reason he loved Halo and Halo 2, he then says…read more | digg story Share: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]
bob20407 said,
July 15, 2007 at 8:32 am
As said- he could have 7 kids and have said he looked forward to playing Halo with all 7, and that doesn’t mean 8-player co-op. You can play Guitar Hero with a whole room full of people, and they don’t all have to be on the system at once to be enjoying the game.
XBox 360 Rally » Blog Archive » Halo 3 - Four Player Co-Op, Hell Yes! said,
July 15, 2007 at 9:11 am
[…] [Info found and posted everywhere by UNSCleric, great find!] — Halo 3, Four Player, Co-Op, UNSCleric, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Major Nelson, Interview « Back Home Posted in E3, Mill o’ Rumour Link to this Entry Email This Entry […]
Dan said,
July 18, 2007 at 11:25 am
I guess you must have egg on your face now. After tooting your own horn about “breaking” this story…Bungie confirms via The EGM article that they are struggling to bring 2 player co-op into the game. 4 player - no where to be found.
DavidGX said,
July 18, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Go troll somewhere else, dan.
halo insider said,
July 18, 2007 at 3:32 pm
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=168397
Digg THIS!!!! UNSCLERIC Comments Exclusive!!!!
-halo insider
UNSCleric.com » Halo 3 and The Art of the Telephone Game said,
July 19, 2007 at 9:11 pm
[…] This article is dedicated to all of those who are using the newly leaked EGM article to try and slam my “Halo 3 Co-Op Confirmed” article (which has surpassed 1,000 diggs). The hype artists out there are now screaming (and crying) that the new EGM article confirms Halo 3 won’t have online co-op and that myself, Jeff Bell, and others are wrong. This is not true. First of all, the EGM article, and EGM’s visit to Bungie, happened over a month ago, a lot has changed since then, and then there’s this article, written by the guy who helped write the Halo 3 EGM cover story, here you go. […]
EliteSoultaker said,
July 21, 2007 at 1:55 pm
He mainly stated that you must play as a team to get thru heroic Halo and Halo 2, and he lookin forward to Halo 3 where all of them can play!!!!! OMG!!!!!
UNSCleric.com » Vindication: Four Player Co-op in Halo 3 Confirmed by Bungie said,
July 31, 2007 at 4:10 pm
[…] Related: 7.12.07 - Four Player Co-op in Halo 3 Confirmed by Microsoft VP Jeff Bell […]
DavidGX said,
August 1, 2007 at 12:51 am
Hah, confirmed. Suck it, doubters.
:) said,
August 1, 2007 at 11:27 pm
Say something dan
II CH4RLIE II said,
August 17, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Ok first of all i just wanna say dan is an idiot! I know about the 4 player co op! its true! one player gets to b MC the other is an arbiter and the last 2 are elite arbiters! So those of u who play rock paper scissors warm up to c who gets to b the MC! Until we meet on live my young jedi! Keep gaming!
Four Player Co-op « Fanguy for Hire said,
August 20, 2007 at 9:54 pm
[…] Click here. […]
Evan said,
September 14, 2007 at 7:50 pm
I just really want to know if you can play Halo 3’s four player co-op offline. I have Xbox LIVE, but have three of my buddies who wanna play Halo 3’s Campaign Mode as bad as I do. Does anyone know??
UNSCleric said,
September 14, 2007 at 10:50 pm
2-player offline, 4-player online.
Four Player Co-op in Halo 3 Confirmed by Microsoft VP Jeff Bell « Xbox 360 News said,
October 6, 2007 at 6:58 am
[…] read more | digg story […]
U don't have halo 3 so u don't know said,
November 20, 2007 at 4:06 pm
In four player co op there r 4 different characters 1 chief 1 arbiter 2 different color elites. happy? problem solved. u can play 4 player online and offline and don’t say that bungie has been stealing online co op from socom cause now the socom games r starting to be crappy.
U don't have halo 3 so u don't know said,
November 20, 2007 at 4:06 pm
In four player co op there r 4 different characters 1 chief 1 arbiter 2 different color elites. happy? problem solved. u can play 4 player online and offline and don’t say that bungie has been stealing online co op from socom cause now the socom games r starting to be crappy.