Halo 3 '99.9 percent complete'

After nearly four years in the making, Halo 3 is now just over one month away from shipping. Over the weekend, developer Bungie Software reassured gamers that there won't be any 11th-hour, Grand Theft Auto IV-style delay of the Xbox 360 shooter.

"Development on Halo 3 is winding down," Bungie staffer and former journalist Luke Smith announced in the studio's most recent weekly update. "While there's still a considerable amount of dudes here on site, playing through the game, testing the game, filing bugs and fixing bugs, the game is roughly 99.9 percent complete."

Smith also confirmed the final ".1 percent" of the game is being tested via the widely rumored, invitation-only Halo 3 Epsilon trial. Currently being conducted in a "controlled retail environment," Epsilon's primary purpose is to fine-tune the game's new Forge level editor. Forge will allow Halo 3 players to customize maps' layouts, including player, character, and vehicle spawn points. The Epsilon test also features the Tsavo Highway level from the game's campaign, as well as five multiplayer maps, including Last Resort and Sandtrap.

Visit GameSpot's Halo Launch Center for more updates on the game as its September 25 release approaches.