Way back in 1997, the game GoldenEye 007 was released on the Nintendo 64. It had been developed by Rare and published by Nintendo, and its multiplayer mode went on to achieve cult-classic status.
The game is still widely adored by many, which makes it very exciting that a new GoldenEye 007 Remastered game has been heavily rumoured recently.
Numerous attempts have been made over the years to recapture the magic of the original GoldenEye game, including the Activision-published version of GoldenEye 007 that launched on Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2010. That particular game made the surprising choice of swapping Pierce Brosnan out for Daniel Craig, though, and did not receive quite as much love as the original.
So, where has this fresh batch of GoldenEye 007 Remastered rumours come from, and what do you need to know about this rumoured project? Keep on reading to find out!
What is GoldenEye 007 Remastered?
Details are thin on the ground regarding the GoldenEye 007 Remastered project, although one would assume that any such project would essentially remake the original game and bring it up to today’s standards of graphics and gameplay.
VentureBeat journalist Jeff Grubb is the source of the latest rumours. Touching upon the potential for a GoldenEye 007 game to emerge in the near future, the oft-cited reporter said on his GrubbSnax video show: “I think that Microsoft is going to be the one to announce that first.”
The respected outlet Video Games Chronicle wrote up the rumour and added: “This matches what one source has recently told VGC.” With those two statements combined, it’s easy to believe that there is some truth to these rumours.
Plus, it’s worth a noting that a list of 55 achievements for an Xbox version of GoldenEye 007 mysteriously appeared on the normally-trustworthy website True Achievements last year. Was that a clue that something could be coming?
Considering that Microsoft now owns the original GoldenEye game’s developers, Rare, it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that this GoldenEye 007 game could eventually appear on Microsoft’s Xbox consoles. However, it’s probably wise to keep your feet on the ground and keep thinking of this as a rumour.
Is GoldenEye 007 Remastered really happening?
Over the years, there have been well-documented legal wrangles around the GoldenEye 007 game’s rights. With our sensible hat on, we know that any remaster would need to navigate tricky legal waters in order to receive an official release.
The GoldenEye game was originally published by Nintendo, but Microsoft now owns its developers (Rare) and would – you assume – love to publish any such remaster on the Microsoft-owned Xbox consoles.
Plus, the movie studio MGM has a stake in the property, too, and MGM’s situation got more complicated recently when Amazon bought the company. And that’s not to mention Barbara Broccoli and EON Productions, who famously control the rights to the franchise.
Basically, in order for a GoldenEye 007 game to get all the way through production and onto our systems (be that Xbox, Nintendo or PlayStation consoles, or even just PC), a lot of people would need to agree to terms.
This has proved something of a stumbling block for previous attempts to re-release GoldenEye 007, which is why the game is currently quite hard to play on modern systems (in a legal way, at least).
You might remember hearing that Rare already made a GoldenEye remaster, back in the Xbox 360 era, but was not allowed to release it due to an issue surrounding the rights.
With all that in mind, it feels very difficult to say with certainty that a GoldenEye 007 Remastered game is actually going to happen. We’d call it a long shot, but it would be wonderful if that long shot came good.
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When could the GoldenEye 007 Remastered release date be?
When Grubb broke this rumour story in February 2022, he was quoted as saying: “I think this game is probably coming pretty soon, I’m thinking next couple of weeks.”
If Grubb’s prediction comes true, then, we could be looking at a GoldenEye 007 Remastered release date in the first half of 2022. However, that is just a rumour at this stage, so definitely sprinkle a pinch of salt on that.
As an alternative idea: the original GoldenEye 007 game launched on 25th August 1997, so the developers could aim for 25th August 2022 if they want to mark the original game’s 25th anniversary in style.
2022 also marks the 60th anniversary of the first James Bond film, the Sean Connery-starring Dr No from 1962, so we’d definitely argue that this is a great year to bring out GoldenEye 007 Remastered. And if these rumours materialise into something more definite, we’ll be sure to update this page to keep you informed.
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