GoldenEye 007 re-release finally confirmed—but it’s not the leaked remake [Updated]

One of retro gaming's worst-kept secrets has finally been confirmed by a tangled web of game publishers and license holders. GoldenEye 007, the legendary 1997 first-person shooter that changed the genre on home consoles, is coming back. This Nintendo 64 game's revival is a case of "mostly good news, some bad news," as we're left reading between the lines of two vague announcements from the two biggest companies involved. The best news, at least, is that we now have two announced re-releases for the game, each covered in copyright notices from the Bond license holders at MGM (now wholly owned by Amazon) and longtime Bond series handler Danjaq.

Switch: “Coming soon with online play”

The first confirmation came from Nintendo itself as part of its latest Nintendo Direct announcement frenzy (which, among other things, finally confirmed the next mainline Legend of Zelda game's name). One portion of the showcase focused squarely on the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscription service, which costs $50 per year and includes a number of downloadable N64 games. After Nintendo confirmed eight more first-party N64 gems coming to the service in either 2022 or 2023, each with a clear look at their emulated gameplay, the familiar MIDI tones of the GoldenEye 007 intro began playing, followed by apparent direct emulation of the N64 version of Bond walking in front of a gun barrel, as framed in the Switch's N64 emulator interface (meaning that a pattern of dots and a Switch profile icon fills its unused widescreen portions). Nintendo did not confirm a release date for the game beyond saying that it's "coming soon with online play." [Update: The Japanese version of today's Nintendo Direct mentioned a "2023" release date for the game on NSO Expansion Pack. It's currently unclear whether other regions may get the game sooner.] The worst news about the Nintendo half of the announcement is that GoldenEye 007's online multiplayer component appears to operate inside the console's N64 emulator. This style of online play famously suffers from slowdown and chugging, owing to a delay-based netcode model that captures player input and then tries to bounce it across three other locally emulated versions of the game. We'd love to be proven wrong and see Rare, which is credited as the game's maker, build a more streamlined first-person shooter netcode emulation model on Switch.

Good news, bad news for the Xbox version

In arguably better news on a technological front, Rare confirmed the long-held rumor that it is also producing a port of GoldenEye 007 for Xbox consoles. This additional announcement confirmed a bump to "4K resolution" on compatible consoles (likely Xbox Series X and Xbox One X), achievement support (which previously leaked), and "smoother" performance, whether playing solo or in four-player split-screen.

We're left reading between the lines on three crucial fronts, however. The first is that the advertised "online play" on the Switch may not be coming to the Xbox version. Rare's article on today's news only confirms "split-screen" as an option for multiplayer, and any lack of online play would be a glaring omission if true; after all, Microsoft and Rare collaborated on an Xbox 360 re-release of GoldenEye's spiritual successor, Perfect Dark, which includes online lobbies. We're assuming the worst on this front until we hear otherwise. [Update: The official 007 website has confirmed that online multiplayer will be exclusive to the Nintendo Switch version.] The announcement confirms a "faithfully re-created" port of the game, which is the only description of the game's graphics beyond resolution. In a gaming industry filled with carefully scrutinized remakes and remasters, including quite a few produced by Rare's current owners at Microsoft, announcements typically list every technological bell and whistle. Today, however, we have just one element to examine: the identical James Bond model, animation cycle, and textures used in the N64 game's opening. A 4K resolution trailer makes evident that only the polygonal model's resolution has been updated, and Microsoft has not suggested that it is adding other visual options for this game. In other words, this does not appear to contain any code or assets from the game's Xbox 360 remake, whose 2021 leak revealed an extensive top-to-bottom asset touch-up (along with a cool shortcut button to switch graphics between "original" and "enhanced" modes at any time). My 2021 interview with members of the 360 remake project included suggestions that they had no idea if or how the N64 game might ever appear on Xbox, based on how their attempt was squashed by higher-ups. The other issue stems from a small logo appearing in the Xbox version of the trailer: Rare Replay. This 2015 anthology of Rare's best games from the ZX Spectrum to the Xbox 360 is in many ways an obvious fit for a GoldenEye 007 re-release (and, based on a leaked documentary produced by Rare, it was arguably planned to be on Rare Replay at some point, anyway). That news means GoldenEye 007 will be available for all paying Xbox Game Pass subscribers since Rare Replay is in that selection. But that leaves many PC gamers wondering when they'll be let in on the fun. Rare Replay never received a port to Windows, breaking a pledge made by Xbox CEO Phil Spencer so many years ago about first-party Xbox games launching simultaneously on consoles and PCs. We wouldn't be surprised to learn that someone in this re-release's licensing farms protested at the idea of GoldenEye 007 getting a formal launch on PC. But it's already there anyway. Some PC gamers would rather pay for a legitimate way to play this game on PCs, if you can believe it. Nitpicks aside, we're left with the admittedly bonkers reality that, yes, the license tangle holding GoldenEye 007 back from a modern re-release on any system has been cleared. Join us in the comments section to celebrate so many upcoming "shotties-and-slappers" battles in the near future (even if many of them might not be online).