Unveiling the Heartbreak: Why the GoldenEye Remaster Never Happened

Regarding iconic video games, GoldenEye 007 frequently grabs the top spot on many rankings. The N64 title continues to captivate gamers even today, due in part to its availability on Nintendo Switch and Xbox consoles. However, for quite some time, this game was absent from modern systems. Various attempts were made over the years to reintroduce GoldenEye 007, with Nightdive Studios expressing a desire to develop a remaster. In a recent conversation with Video Games Chronicle, Nightdive’s CEO, Stephen Kick, shared some insights about the project and why it didn’t come to fruition.

Reflecting on those times, I can’t help but remember the crushing disappointment. We had invested countless hours into crafting a pitch that we believed could revolutionize the industry. Our team was a well-oiled machine, ready for the challenge. However, as we reached the MGM/Eon stage, things started to unravel.

A year of hard work culminated in the question, “Did you secure the rights from Nintendo?” A query that took us aback, as we thought those negotiations had already been handled. The answer was a firm ‘no’ from Nintendo, who reiterated their policy of never allowing third parties to touch any of their intellectual property. It was a tough lesson learned.

Kick’s comments didn’t go into great detail about this topic, but they align with what the head of Nightdive Studios has previously said. In a series of tweets from 2022, Kick disclosed that their team had prior talks with Nintendo regarding the “remastering of several games,” mentioning that Nintendo tends to be cautious when collaborating directly with external developers. It’s probable now that GoldenEye 007 could have been one of the games Kick was alluding to, and the CEO also expressed a strong desire for Nightdive Studios to handle a remaster of Eternal Darkness. Notably, this game has only been available on the original GameCube console.

Regrettably, Kick failed to provide any additional insights regarding their talks with Nintendo, leaving us to ponder the reasons behind their unsuccessful collaboration. Over the past ten years, Nintendo has broadened its relationships with third-party developers, allowing many to manage their intellectual properties. Just this month, Koei Tecmo announced a new Hyrule Warriors game scheduled for release later this year on the Nintendo Switch 2. It’s plausible that Nightdive aimed to launch these remasters across various platforms, potentially causing friction with Nintendo’s policies. Without further disclosure from either party, we can only guess why things fell through.

Despite different possibilities, the remaster of the game “GoldenEye 007” didn’t materialize. Nevertheless, Nintendo, MGM/Eon, and Xbox managed to come to an agreement, enabling them to re-release the original N64 version of the game instead. It’s intriguing to ponder what could have transpired if Nightdive Studios had been granted the opportunity to remaster the game in a manner similar to how “The Thing” was remastered!

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2025-04-14 20:22