In a move that's unlikely to surprise anyone acquainted with the works and words of Peter Molyneux, Fable 2 will ship without online co-op play. 

People with real life friends or no friends at all will be unaffected due to the fact that the split screen and single player modes will be entirely functional in the disc release.

Those of you who happen to yearn for interaction with distant friends still have the silver lining that the online co-op mode will be functional via a patch that will be made available within the first week of release--probably. 

Let's hope that Molyneux delivers, as it would be horrible to see such a promising game marred by the temporary occlusion of such a heavily touted feature.

Fable 2: Revenge of the Molyneux, Redux! [10/09/08] 75% match
New Xbox Experience: It's Up. [11/19/08] 50% match
Fable 2: Making Big Promises, Again. [11/11/08] 50% match
New Xbox Experience: What's Bumpin' with... [9/26/08] 50% match
E3 2008: First Screens from Fable II [7/14/08] 50% match
Fable 2 Pub Games Coming in August [7/07/08] 50% match
Game Developers Conference 2008 Featured S... [1/16/08] 50% match