GoldenEye on Xbox Game Pass won’t include online multiplayer

Classic Nintendo 64 stealth shooter GoldenEye is coming to Xbox and Nintendo Switch, but will be missing a key feature on Microsoft’s platform.

Coinciding with the game’s 25th anniversary, a remastered version of GoldenEye is set to launch on Xbox Game Pass and the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack tier soon. According to a post on the official James Bond website (opens in new tab), its online multiplayer mode will only be available on the Nintendo Switch.

Both versions of the game will include four-player local multiplayer, though, as well as the original single-player campaign. The remaster will also support up to 4K resolutions, smoother frame rates, and improved control options that take advantage of two analog sticks – after the original game used the Nintendo 64 controller’s single thumbstick.

Leagues ahead

Some Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One players will see the omission as a big loss. After GoldenEye’s original 1997 release, it quickly gained acclaim for its competitive online deathmatches that included a variety of modes and maps. Each could be customized, and more levels and characters unlocked as you progressed through the main campaign.

The game established a template that’s been followed and expanded upon by many multiplayer shooters in the decades since. Elements of GoldenEye’s frenetic gunplay, map variety, and barebones progression system can still be seen in the biggest of them. It’s likely the best FPS games of today would look very different had Rare not tried its hand at competitive deathmatches.

Fans have been waiting to dip back into GoldenEye’s multiplayer on current-generation consoles for years. Although an HD remaster was in development for the Xbox 360 it never officially released, and a 2010 Nintendo Wii remaster made some significant changes to the original game. Up to this point, players have had to rely on legally worrisome fan-made remakes and ports to glimpse Rare’s original.

You won’t need to be a paid-up member of Game Pass or Nintendo Switch Online to try this new remaster. If you own a digital copy of Rare Replay – a compilation pack collecting 30 games created by the titular dev studio – you’ll be able to download the new version of GoldenEye for free.

Alongside announcing GoldenEye’s remaster, Nintendo also revealed it’s nabbing a foxy Xbox game, and finally revealed a release date for Breath of the Wild 2.