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In 2008, there existed some plans to remake GoldenEye for the Xbox 360 Live Arcade. These plans were ultimately scrapped after getting entangled in disputes over the rights to the game and the IP. Now, in the glorious year that is 2021, a build of the game is now playable all thanks to the wonders of emulation on the PC.
Two hours of the game were uploaded to YouTube just this past week. The uploader and others said that a near-final version of the ROM would make its way online to the public. Sure enough, that ROM made its way online and includes a fully remastered campaign and even multiplayer.
So, how legitimate is this release? According to PC Gamer, it's very legit. They found out that there is also a cool little feature that allows you to swap between the old Nintendo 64 visuals and the updated visuals in the remake. This was, of course, made popular in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary release. They also note that not every planned feature made it into the leaked build. For instance, there are no speed running leaderboards, no achievements, and there is no online multiplayer.
Grant Kirkhope, when speaking with VGC, said that the reason the game never got released officially is due to licensing issues.
"The main reason it didn’t happen was because there were too many stakeholders. Microsoft, Nintendo and [Bond rights-holder] EON could never agree on terms, and that’s before you even start to consider getting all the original movie actors to agree to have their likenesses used again. It would’ve cost a lot of money to get it done and because of that the project probably wouldn’t have been financially viable."
