It had been rumoured for months and months but it was finally revealed last night that GoldenEye 007 is coming to both Nintendo Switch and Xbox consoles via Nintendo Switch Online and Xbox Game Pass, but there’s one glaring difference between the two versions.
On Nintendo Switch, the game will have online multiplayer (likely baked in how it is with other Nintendo 64 games), but whilst the Xbox Series X|S/Xbox One version will no doubt run and look better, it will not have any form of online multiplayer.
“Exclusive to the new Switch version of the 1997 title will be online play, allowing 007 fans across the world to take part in the popular four person multiplayer mode.” reads the official 007 website.
Similarly, Microsoft confirmed to VGC that there is no online multiplayer in the Xbox version: “While there are no plans to include online multiplayer as part of GoldenEye 007 on Xbox Game Pass, Xbox is focused on bringing this title to players in the way they fondly remember, including local multiplayer mode, allowing up to four players to take to the couch in a battle of wits and skill.”
Whilst this does make sense given Nintendo Switch Online already has this functionality built in, it is a little bit of a weird one for a game with one of the most iconic multiplayer modes of all time to not have online multiplayer on Xbox. It’s unclear at this point if this was some kind of exclusivity request by Nintendo.
It’s especially weird given we know a complete HD remake for the game leaks with online multiplayer built in, although it’s pretty clear at this point that this will never see the light of day.
Regardless, we’re happy to have this classic on Xbox Game Pass and Nintendo Switch Online. It’ll have a new 16:9/4K resolution, controls mapped to dual analogue sticks and a smoother frame rate. We still don’t know when it’s releasing, but it seems like it’ll be soon.
