GoldenEye 007 Xbox remaster just leaked — how to play it right now

Goldeneye N64 remaster
(Image credit: Digital Foundry)

If you ask most old-school gamers, they'll tell you the James Bond tie-in GoldenEye 007 was one of the best titles made for the Nintendo 64 back in the late 1990s. 

About 10 years later, original developer Rare was working on a remastered version of the game for Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade. But the remaster got tied up in rights issues and was unceremoniously cancelled. Now the lost game has leaked onto the internet and you can actually play it.

Fans of the original GoldenEye game finally have a glimpse at this mysteriously lost title. There are multiple YouTube videos online of people playing the game, all with nostalgic joy. 

The game can be played on an Xbox 360 development kit or the Xenia emulator on PC. While the emulator does require a decently powerful rig, it plays well. 

How the GoldenEye 007 remaster got leaked

Where did this leak come from? Goldeneye 007 was originally released on the Nintendo 64 in 1997, and British development studio Rare was bought by Microsoft in 2002. 

At some point during the Xbox 360's lifecycle, Rare developed a remastered port of Goldeneye for Xbox Live Arcade. But the game ran into licensing issues, which forced its abandonment even though it was near-complete by August of 2007.

The game did make its way to PartnerNet, which was a service for developers and reviewers to share game code online through Xbox 360 development kits. 

Because security wasn't too stringent on PartnerNet, whenever a game would hit the service, it was possible for almost anyone with an Xbox 360 development kit to download the latest game code. And briefly, Goldeneye 007 Remaster went live on the service for about one hour.

According to YouTuber ModernVintageGamer, Microsoft would often take development kits to landfills for disposal. Resellers would scour landfills looking for dev kits to then sell on the open market. This meant that, for a few hundred dollars, it was possible for the public to get their hands on a dev kit and access PartnerNet.

What the leaked GoldenEye is like, and why it'll never be officially released

The GoldenEye remastered game runs at 720p instead of the original's standard definition, with higher resolution textures and either a 16:9 or 21:9 aspect ratio. The game itself is floating around the internet and can be found on at least one publicly accessible website without requiring a password or login.

In 2010, Activision did release a GoldenEye 007 game for the Wii and Nintendo DS. It was a reimagined version of the original N64 title. That game did not garner the same praise as the original, but was a decent title, currently sitting at an 81 on Metacritic. 

A year later, a higher-resolution port was released on PS3 and Xbox 360 titled Goldeneye 007: Reloaded. The PS3 version features PS Move controls, giving it the same motion options as the Wii version from a year prior. Reloaded sits at a lower Metacritic score of 72

The remastered version of GoldenEye 007 is still in legal limbo. Considering that Microsoft, Nintendo, MGM, James Bond rights holder Eon Productions and even Activision may have to agree on copyright issues, and the actors in the 1995 GoldenEye movie will need to agree to have their likenesses used, an official remake or remaster may never happen.

TOPICS
Imad Khan

Imad is currently Senior Google and Internet Culture reporter for CNET, but until recently was News Editor at Tom's Guide. Hailing from Texas, Imad started his journalism career in 2013 and has amassed bylines with the New York Times, the Washington Post, ESPN, Wired and Men's Health Magazine, among others. Outside of work, you can find him sitting blankly in front of a Word document trying desperately to write the first pages of a new book.

Latest in Xbox
Evil Shift Controller Xbox One
Microsoft may be designing a new Xbox controller with DualSense-like features — here's what we know
Playing Metaphor ReFantazio on the Xbox Series X Digital Edition
Got a new Xbox Series X? Here are 5 games you need to play first
Xbox Series X console with a Tom's Guide Black Friday deals tag
Xbox Black Friday deals — biggest savings on Series X, Series S and more
Xbox Game Pass logo above an Xbox controller
Microsoft will finally let you stream Xbox games you already own via Game Pass — here's what you can play right now
wd_black xbox expansion card deals
WD_Black’s 1TB Xbox Expansion Card just hit its lowest ever price — this is a killer Black Friday Xbox deal
seagate 2TB expansion card for xbox series x with a lowest price deal tag
Grab this 2TB Expansion Card for Xbox Series X — back at its lowest ever price
Latest in News
NYTimes Connections
NYT Connections today hints and answers — Sunday, March 16 (#644)
Nintendo Switch 2
New Nintendo Switch 2 FCC filing suggests this beloved Nintendo controller could make a comeback
(From L to R) Rohan (Nik Dodani), Josh (Brandon Flynn), Dorothy (Edie Falco), John (Dean Norris), and Liddie (Lisa Kuthrow) in The Parenting
Max top 10 movies — here’s the 3 worth watching right now
NYT Strands on a cellphone
NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #378 (Sunday, March 16 2025)
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE renders
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE price leak is bad news for budget-conscious buyers
Google Assistant
Gemini to kill off Google Assistant on most Android phones — here's what you need to know