Confirmed: GoldenEye 007 will release for Switch and Xbox this week

GoldenEye 007 will release for Nintendo Switch and Xbox consoles this week, on January 27, it’s been announced.

The Switch version of the N64 classic will be available to subscribers of Nintendo‘s Switch Online Expansion Pack tier, and like other N64 titles on the service it will include online play.

A pair of trailers published on Wednesday (embedded below) also confirm widescreen support for both versions of the shooter.

After months of speculation, Microsoft officially confirmed the modern ports of GoldenEye 007 for Xbox Game Pass, in addition to a Nintendo Switch, during a Nintendo Direct broadcast in September.

Previously, the company confirmed that online play would only be present in the Switch port, suggesting that both versions would be relatively unchanged in terms of content – something that today’s trailers heavily suggest.

Switch Online’s classic games library is able to feature online play via emulation of the original local modes as a feature of the platform.

https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/1618275788230623232

According to developer Rare, the Xbox version will include “achievements, 4K resolution and a smoother framerate” in addition to split-screen local multiplayer.

Rare previously said of the Xbox port: “The original experience has been updated with improved control options (including dual analogue stick support), native 16:9 resolution up to 4K Ultra HD (where supported), a consistent refresh rate and a full complement of achievements to unlock.”

GoldenEye 007 will be made available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S as part of Xbox Game Pass. Additionally, players who own a digital copy of Rare Replay will be able to download the game free of charge.

Further reading

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Interview: The real story behind GoldenEye HD, as told by its directors

Co-leads break their silence on the game they say will never release

A Rare employees previously confirmed that the version of GoldenEye releasing for modern platforms is not the same as the cancelled Xbox 360 remaster that was leaked online in 2021.

Speaking for the first time to VGC in a GoldenEye Xbox interview in 2021, the canned Xbox 360 remaster’s co-directors said they didn’t think it would ever be officially released.

“It’s kind of bittersweet,” co-director Chris Tilston said of seeing the GoldenEye remaster leak into the public domain at the time. “It means people get to see the work that was done, but it also masks some of the cockups that went on behind the scenes.”