Attention adventurers: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception’s multiplayer mode is now available as free-to-play! But if the multiplayer isn’t something you’re interested in, you can now buy any game mode within Uncharted 3 as individual purchases, or all together as a complete package.

Naughty Dog continues to support Uncharted 3's multiplayer modes by mixing things up with labs and offering bonus events to entice players back.  The latest promotion is an all co-op affair increasing the likelihood of seeing "rare" treasure dropped in a co-op match.

All Co-Op modes in Uncharted 3 Multiplayer – Hunter, Arena, and Adventure – now include a greater chance you’ll be receiving a rare treasure drop! This is the first ever treasure drop weekend for Uncharted 3 multiplayer. Your chance to earn a rare treasure in Crushing Co-Op Adventure has tripled while the likelihood of you seeing a rare treasure drop in Hard Co-Op Adventure has doubled.

Normal and easy difficulty both have a slight increase as well and all modes of gameplay earn double cash this weekend.  It's like Christmas came early.  The even runs until Tuesday, December 18th, after that it's back to normal. 

Soon to be available on the PlayStation Network, the 2^nd to last DLC in the Fortune Hunter’s Club known as “Shade Survival Mode” will arrive come Tuesday for Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is getting a new map pack today called the Flashback Map Pack #2.  While this content update won't contain any new co-op modes like the last DLC, it will contain a bunch of remastered maps from Uncharted 2 playable in both competitive and co-op survival gameplay.   The maps - Plaza, Temple, Train Wreck, and Village - have all-new dynamic lighting effects, innovative particle effects and tons of other fresh technical polish thanks to the Uncharted 3 engine.

Along with news of this map pack comes word of the next piece of co-op DLC called "Co-Op Shade Mode."  No details were given, only the above screen shot was shown.  According to Naughty Dog this content should be out next month.   

The Flashback Map Pack #2 will be out today with the latest PSN update for $9.99 or it is included with the Fortune Hunter's Season Pass.

Out today on PSN is a brand new piece of content for Uncharted 3.  It's called "Fort Co-Op Adventure" and is a unique departure from the other co-op scenarios available on the Uncharted 3 disc - namely - you play as the villains.

The expansion stars Zoran Lazarevic, Eddy Raja, and Harry Flynn exploring the mystery behind the Janus head statue, which you may remember is one of the relics from another co-op mission from the main game.   This content will set you back $5.99, unless you purchased a Fortune Hunter's pass for $24.99, in which it's included.  With a total of 14 planned pieces of content - it seems like it might be a really good deal.

The Fort Co-Op Adventure DLC should be out now and supports 3 player online co-op.

Amazon is offering deals for today only on a ton of great PlayStation 3 titles, many which include co-op play.  Here's what you can snag for almost 50% off.

Uncharted 3 - $39.99
Resistance 3 - $29.99
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One - $29.99
Killzone 3 - $19.99
Dead Island - $29.99
Resistance Dual Pack - $19.99

You can go ahead and purchase any of those games at this link here and support Co-Optimus in the process.

While our database always contains the most pertinent information for a game, sometimes the scope and questions that come up from the cooperative aspects extend past a simple entry.  That's where's our Co-Op FAQs come in.  Without further ado, our Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Co-Op FAQ is available.

Welcome to Beyond Co-Op, a weekly piece that talks about industry stories that may or may not be related to co-op gaming.

The stories for this week:

- Target Has Buy 2, Get 1 Free Next Week
- DC Universe Goes Free to Play on Tuesday
- Grand Theft Auto V Trailer Coming on Wednesday
- Grand Theft Auto V to be Based in Los Angeles-like City, Multiple Playable Characters
- Uncharted 3, Goldeneye 007: Reloaded, LOTR: War in the North and Sonic Generations This Week

What could quite possibly be Drake's biggest adventure yet is a mere week away. That's right, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception hits store shelves next Tuesday, November 1 and I for one can't wait to see what's up with that smoking plane in the background. Developer Naughty Dog has brought out out the big guns in anticipation of the game's release, and we're not just talking about another launch trailer...

Naughty Dog has announced that Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception has gone gold and will be available to retailers on November 1st.  The PlayStation 3 exclusive game is one we've been watching for a while, along side one of the most entertaining single player experiences in video games this generation - Uncharted 3 will offer a variety of multiplayer modes including several cooperative modes for three players.  

But that won't be the only co-op goodness inside the box, as Sony has revealed new purchases of Uncharted 3 will include a code for the Starhawk Beta which will take place in early 2012.  It hasn't been announced yet what is going to be included in that beta, but we hope it's the co-op mode.

We were told when Resistance 3 was still in the works that Playstation 3 games with some form of online/multiplayer aspect would likely require a "Online Pass" in order to access this content. It's been confirmed by Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) in a statement to Destructoid yesterday that everybody's favorite treasure hunter will also require one for the upcoming Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. What's more, he may not be the only one...

In the brief statement given to Destructoid, SCEA said:

Online Pass will be incorporated into Uncharted 3 and future Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios (SCE WWS) games with online functionality. We will provide further information in the future.

This week we kick off a brand new batch of This Week in Co-Op articles. Over the next two months we’re going to be bringing you a unique spin on our weekly feature, the Co-Opticrew are playing with various members of the gaming industry including developers, PR, journalists and podcasters.

This week I wrapped up the Uncharted 3 beta with Naughty Dog’s Community Manager, Arne Meyer. Arne’s job at Naughty Dog involves community outreach - that means managing the official blog and forums, Twitter, Facebook, and any other social connections involved. You’ll also see Arne posting from time to time on the Official PlayStation Blog.

Sully in 'da House

As a youth I was always told that it took dedication if you wanted to be a record breaker; that and a lot of people interested in signing up for your online Beta.  The Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Beta ended last week, but not before becoming the most popular that the PS3 has ever seen.  Hopefully, a lot of you had the chance to play the co-op modes, some of which were more co-op than others.

Although the Beta is over, Naughty Dog are still looking for feedback on their forums, so head on over to have your point of view heard.  With over 1.53 million unique players signing up for the Beta, Naughty Dog have decided to celebrate by dropping some stats (see Read More).  Unfortunately, there are no numbers on the truly important things; such as how many inane quips Nathan Drake murmured, or how many times Cubninja had to be healed by a co-op pal.

Fire up your PlayStation 3's and hop into the Uncharted 3's beta for a taste of the brand new Co-Op Adventure mode which has just been added to the active playlists with the latest update.  The co-op adventure mode is a mode we went hands on with at E3 and greatly enjoyed.  It's a three player local/online mode where Drake and his pal's need to recover some treasure, uncover some secrets, and just generally be cool archeologists.  

The Uncharted 3 Beta just hit 1 million active players.  Right now anyone can download the beta from the PlayStation store and jump into the action.  The beta ends this Thursday, July 14th - so get in now while you still can!  There will be one more opportunity to get in on the action later this year with a Subway promotion.

The Uncharted 3 Beta is underway with full support for the game's various co-op modes over its 3 week period. Not only can you enjoy the game online, but you can check out the split-screen addition as well. To celebrate the launch Naughty Dog has provided us with 20 beta codes to give away!