The most famous shooter to grace the Nintendo 64, GoldenEye 007 is finally arriving on Xbox and Nintendo Switch. In a recent announcement, developer Rare has stated that they will be remastering the 1997 classic to include local split-screen multiplayer, higher frame rates, and online play.
GoldenEye 007 Xbox vs. Switch versions
GoldenEye 007 will be available through both Nintendo Switch Online and Xbox Game Pass, yet the online functionality will be exclusive to Switch. This is in accordance with an official post on the 007 website in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the iconic British spy film franchise.
Microsoft has said that the reason for the lack of online multiplayer on Xbox is due to the way the game is ported.
It appears as though Nintendo is utilizing the foundation of the original, and Microsoft is using new technology to completely recreate the experience in an updated engine.
Currently, there is no release date for GoldenEye 007 on either of the two platforms. However, owning Rare Replay will give you instant, free access to the game on Xbox.
Furthermore, the Xbox version will see a return to the campaign and cheat modes in addition to native 16:9 aspect ratio support for a quality of up to 4K resolution.
History of porting the game
It’s been a long time coming since we were due for an HD remaster of this incredible title. Originally, the game was to release on the Xbox 360 way back in 2008. However, issues with rights and licensing made this deal challenging. Leaks of the first HD remaster dropped last year and already showed off some of the features that have been recently confirmed.
There has been a huge swath of attempts to remake the original N64 version of GoldenEye 007. The most infamous is the 2010 reimagining of the game by Eurocom and Activision. Not only did this game eschew Pierce Brosnan, the leading actor of James Bond at the time of GoldenEye’s release, for new actor Daniel Craig, but it made so many other changes to the combat and campaign that it simply did not deserve to carry the original name.
While 2010’s reimagining failed, as did the 2011 update known as GoldenEye 007 Reloaded, there were good things that came out of the absence of an official port to modern systems for so long.
For instance, when the studio was still at its peak, Rare took the foundation of the mechanics and engine they created for GoldenEye 007 to create Perfect Dark, a spiritual successor, in 2000. This game has gone down in history as one of the greatest classics in the N64 library.
In spite of official efforts, fans have successfully remade the original GoldenEye 007 in several engines. One particular project was so successful that it gained the attention of MGM rights holders in 2020.