The field of video game preservation is often an amazing and lovely space. This was proven once more recently, when a remaster of GoldenEye 007, originally slated for release on Xbox 360 in 2007, leaked online in replayable condition after a full play was uploaded to YouTube. If you're familiar with the original N64 version of GoldenEye 007, you'll notice by watching the video how faithful it is to a remaster. The gameplay, music, and sound effects remain intact, while the game's textures have seen a significant improvement. It's not much different from 2010J Studios' 4 Perfect Dark remaster, which was also released on the Xbox Live Arcade ecosystem. One big difference here is that the GoldenEye 007 remaster was not outsourced. Rather, it was developed in-house by Rare itself.
Lots of old Boris
Unfortunately, the GoldenEye 007 remaster has been canned due to copyright issues, but it appears to be in near-complete condition. In fact, the full remaster is already available for download and can be played on an emulator. The game has been confirmed to be indeed playable, and in good condition as well, with Digital Foundry's John Linneman citing it in a tweet posted today.He plans to do a live broadcast of DF this afternoon to chat and play the Goldeneye 360 leaked version. It's very good. Any interest? pic.twitter.com/h9J84JymMP3 February 2021 Through various efforts, the GoldenEye 007 remaster has been maintained for fans of the original to experience at their leisure. Typically resourceful, Rare didn't let the project die with a whimper either, acknowledging its probable demise with that cheeky splash screen: