Crackdown 2 four-player co-op confirmed

This week, however, a product page for Crackdown 2 was set live on Microsoft's official Web site, divulging new gameplay information. The game will sport four-person multiplayer and competitive multiplayer for up to 16 players. A release date has yet to be set for the third-person shooter, though.

The original Crackdown gained initial notoriety for being bundled with a multiplayer beta key for Bungie's Halo 3. After scoring positive reviews when it debuted in February 2008, the title went on to sell nearly 500,000 units in the US during its first month on the market.

Prior to the game's announcement last week, a measure of controversy erupted over whether Microsoft would return to Realtime Worlds with Crackdown 2. With online reports indicating that Ruffian Games was stocking up on Crackdown alums for development on the sequel, Realtime Worlds studio head Colin MacDonald said in February 2009 that his studio was in "ongoing discussions" to work on a second Crackdown.

At the time, MacDonald said that he doubted "Microsoft would harm an otherwise fruitful existing development relationship by gambling on funding Crackdown 2 with a startup on RTW's doorstep, for obvious reasons." Currently, Realtime Worlds is at work on the open-world online shooter APB, which EA Partners plans to distribute in early 2010.