In the build up to today’s Batman: Arkham Knight reveal, Rocksteady Studios was very careful with who and what they did and didn’t show. Although the forthcoming trailer was obviously supposed to focus on Batman, the pre-trailer teasers suggested we might also see a few of the Dark Knight’s iconic sidekicks return as well.

Now that the Batman: Arkham Knight trailer has released, it’s clearer what those teases were meant to do. No doubt Batman is a focus for Arkham Knight, but the returns of Robin, Catwoman, and Nightwing appear to factor both into the story and into the combat.

After the trailer hit, many fans were quick to tout Batman: Arkham Knight as the first co-op entry in the series. We see Batman throwing down with thugs as usual, but this time around a few of his sidekicks jump into the mix, and not as part of a challenge room either.

So does Batman: Arkham Knight feature co-op? As of right now, Warner Bros. Interactive and Rocksteady Studios have nothing official to say on the matter. But it seems more likely that the game will simply have an option to control Robin, Nightwing, and Catwoman for brief spurts during combat.

According to the Batman: Arkham Knight trailer press release, this option is called 'Dual Play' and it will "allow players to seamlessly switch between The Dark Knight and his allies including Robin, Nightwing, and Catwoman in FreeFlow Combat." In other words, players can jump into Nightwing’s body on the fly, but only while he is fighting alongside Batman.

[HTML1]

Heading into today’s trailer reveal few would have even thought co-op was an option in Batman: Arkham Knight, but then Robin and Nightwing started showing up in promo materials. Regardless of how playable they are, however, Robin and Nightwing apparently have a larger role to play in the Arkham Knight story. Batman’s back is up against the wall in this final adventure, and he will need all the help he can get to make it out of Gotham alive.

Some have even predicted that the appearances of Nightwing and Robin suggest Batman might not make it through Arkham Knight. We know that this is the final game in Rocksteady’s Batman trilogy so that wouldn’t be unexpected, and a rumor about Batman’s fate leaked late last year, but that’s speculation at this point.

Do you think Batman: Arkham Knight should feature co-op? Or would that take away from the experience?

Batman: Arkham Knight releases June 23, 2015 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.