Leaking online a few days ago, the existence of a canceled GoldenEye 007 remaster meant to debut on Xbox Live Arcade was made public, with fans being treated to a 2-hour video showcasing the revamped classic's campaign. Speaking to VGC, GoldenEye's composer, Grant Kirkhope, claimed the remaster was dropped "because there were too many stakeholders," with Microsoft, Nintendo, and EON unable to agree on terms.
Today, the leaked GoldenEye build shown off through the video has reportedly made its way online, with VGC verifying that the planned Xbox Live Arcade release has begun circulating around the web. Multiplayer isn't available on the build, but the single-player campaign for the title is, leading to the slice of footage made available to the public a few days ago.
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According to social media users who have accessed the leaked ROM, it allegedly offers players the ability to switch between the remaster's updated, HD visuals and the original look of the game from its N64 release. It was also slated to have a mode that tracked speedruns through a leaderboard, but these apparently never made it to the version of the game currently making the rounds online. Aside from that, the title appears to be relatively unchanged, offering the same style of gameplay that made GoldenEye famous with updated visuals and leaderboard features for competitive players.
For those who don't know much about GoldenEye, the game originally hit shelves back in 1997, immediately becoming iconic due to its addictive multiplayer gameplay and first-person shooting. Over the years, it has become the definitive James Bond video game, with many hailing it as one of the best shooters of all time. Seeing as the game was developed by the now Xbox-owned Rare and published by Nintendo, the rights have been notoriously tricky to navigate ever since, especially considering the Bond IP has several licensing issues of its own.
The franchise will be returning in a newer entry in the next few years, however, with Hitman developer IO Interactive taking on the series through Project 007. The studio announced the game late last year, promising that it will envision a completely original James Bond and offer a new story set in the IP's universe. Knowing the studio's style and preferred genres, it's wise to imagine the team will be delivering a stealth-focused action-adventure, which will play on the character's espionage roots. It'll be intriguing to see where the game stacks up against the reams of popular Bond video game tie-ins that have released over the years.
The GoldenEye 007 Xbox Live Arcade remaster is a canceled project.
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Source: VGC