Canceled Xbox 360 GoldenEye remaster has been leaked online

Gameplay for the canceled remaster of 007’s GoldenEye has been leaked online in a two-hour-long video.

As spotted by VGC, the entire game, from the start of the Dam through to the end credits, has been shared on YouTube, giving us a look at what a GoldenEye port could have looked like.

The Xbox 360 port of the classic Nintendo game was allegedly going to be released through Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Live Arcade. For various rights reasons, it was canceled despite being, as you can see from the video, basically finished in its entirety.

GoldenEye was supposedly going to be published by Microsoft in partnership with Activision, after reaching a deal with Nintendo to completely remaster the legendary game from the original N64 version released in 1997. Ultimately, the project was scrapped.

As you can see from the video, the whole game looks completely playable. Considering how many rights issues seem to be involved in the game, it wouldn’t be surprising if the gameplay footage was eventually taken offline.

The video description explains that the footage was captured by using an emulator. “Footage of the cancelled GoldenEye XBLA remake from 2007, full game on 00 Agent”, reads the description of the video on YouTube.

The game was first leaked in 2008, but now is the first time we’ve seen so much of the project. According to Microsoft boss Phil Spencer, Xbox has always been looking to bring GoldenEye back, but in 2015 Spencer tweeted and subsequently destroyed any hopes of seeing the game remastered.

His tweet reads: “GoldenEye rights are so challenging, looked at this many times. Lots of different parties to work with, we’ve always given up.”

Until now, the only way to play the original GoldenEye is on the N64, but there are modern alternatives like the fan-made GoldenEye: Source which has recreated the multiplayer mode. 

But if you’re looking for more James Bond, you can take comfort in knowing that IO Interactive, the studio behind the Hitman series, is currently hard at work making Project 007 for the PS5 and Xbox Series X.