UPDATE 13 SEP 2022 5:17 PM GMT: David Doak says on Twitter that, to his knowledge, none of the developers of the original team have participated on this new version. UPDATE 5:27 PM: New photos emerge from the official Xbox site.
It is now official: GOLDENEYE 007 is back – a newly remastered version of the game will be available for Nintendo Switch Online and Xbox consoles. Little is known so far and it is understood that this new version will be available by late 2023. Rare promises us 4K resolution and "a smoother frame-rate, even in split-screen local multiplayer". Watch the official trailer below:
Rumors concerning an high-definition release version of the Nintendo 64 classic based on the 1995 James Bond film GOLDENEYE have been around since January, when achievements unlocked by Rare developers have been spotted. In the past quarter of a century, attempts to exploit the GOLDENEYE trademark in order to attract nostalgics was attempted by both Electronic Arts and Activision, the former with the spin-off title GOLDENEYE: ROGUE AGENT in 2004 and the latter with a remake of the 1997 title for Nintendo Wii and DS replacing Pierce Brosnan's likeness for that of Daniel Craig's in 2010. None of them had the popularity and acclaim of Rare's creation, and the fact that for multiple reasons a XBLA port was cancelled in 2007 caused a great deal of disgust among Bond fans who grew up in the 1990s.
In February 2021, after an unofficial fan project trying to recreate the N64 game for PC under the UNREAL 4 engine was given a "cease and desist" letter in 2020, the XBLA port –of which fans have been treated with screenshots and video footage– was leaked by someone known as "Fyodorovna" and ever since that day players were able to enjoy it for free using a console emulator. The file, however, was a prototype containing a couple of bugs, namely in the design of Bond's forearm as the player tried to access the watch menu and some of the menu music missing.
According to Craig Duncan from the official Xbox site, which provided the first wave of official photos (above), the new version will have "improved control options (including dual analogue stick support), native 16:9 resolution up to 4K Ultra HD (where supported), a consistent refresh rate and a full complement of achievements to unlock".
This upcoming version will not be the scrapped 2007 game with the bugs fixed, just a better looking version of the polygonal-looking game for Nintendo 64. There is also the understanding that both the Xbox and Nintendo Switch versions have some differences, but stay tuned for more updates in the upcoming months!