GoldenEye 007 remaster has been announced for Xbox, but there's a catch

Update (Sep. 13, 2022): Microsoft confirms that GoldenEye 007 will not feature online play on Xbox.

What you need to know

• The rumored GoldenEye 007 remaster has been officially confirmed for release in today's Nintendo Direct.
• Rare has made a statement on Twitter revealing it will come to Xbox Game Pass as part of Rare Replay.
• The remaster will include improved graphics and split-screen local multiplayer, but no online multiplayer for the Xbox release.

Following months of speculation, rumors, and a leaked achievements list, today Rare has finally confirmed the arrival of a GoldenEye 007 remaster. Today's Nintendo Direct showcased an official trailer for the long-anticipated release, followed by a tweet from Xbox studio Rare confirming the game will also come to Xbox Game Pass. However, the tweet does not mention that the Xbox edition will be not receiving online multiplayer, which has been confirmed for the Nintendo Switch.

The remaster will feature improved graphics, boosted framerate and native 16:9 4K resolution on Xbox. Local split-screen multiplayer will also be a feature for up to four players, but so far online multiplayer has only been announced for the Nintendo release. Online multiplayer on Nintendo Switch Online is a system level feature, allowing any classic game from the N64 library that had local multiplayer features to work online via virtualized emulation.

So far there has been no release date confirmed but this announcement comes 25 years following the original release, and fans will be excited to have all the speculation of the past months confirmed by official sources. The announcement has been dampened somewhat by the online multiplayer effectively being a Nintendo Switch exclusive. Bringing online virtualized multiplayer features to classic games on Xbox would require additional investments in the Xbox backward compatibility system, which has been put on hiatus at least for now.

Given the curious rights situation for the GoldenEye 007 video game IP being split between Microsoft and Nintendo, porting the game to modern systems was likely no easy feat. Phil Spencer has previously spoken of having a "ton of respect" for Nintendo despite them being competitors in the console market. With Rare's Banjo-Kazooie having hit Nintendo Switch Online this year, this is one of various recent collaborative efforts between the two studios. 

GoldenEye007 will be coming to Xbox Game Pass as a day one release, and owners of the Rare Replay compilation of games will receive a free copy of the game.

Update

A Microsoft spokesperson reached out to confirm that the GoldenEye 007 remaster will not feature online play on Xbox. 

"Xbox is excited to bring GoldenEye 007 to Xbox Game Pass for the very first time - a faithful recreation of a much-loved and iconic title. While there are no plans to include online multiplayer as part of GoldenEye 007 on Xbox Game Pass, Xbox is focused on bringing this title to players in the way they fondly remember, including local multiplayer mode, allowing up to four players to take to the couch in a battle of wits and skill," the spokesperson stated.

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