Nightdive Studios Was Apparently “Close” To Reviving GoldenEye 007

Rare’s iconic first-person shooter GoldenEye 007 was thought to be stuck in licensing hell, but after ongoing rumours and last week’s Nintendo Direct, it was officially announced for the Switch Online N64 service. It’s coming to Xbox Game Pass and Rare Replay with some minor enhancements, too.

Sure, it might not be the axed remaster that leaked last year, however, it’s better than nothing. We can’t help but wonder though what might have happened if Nightdive Studios (Shadow Man, PowerSlave) had been given the right to revive this classic instead of Rare. According to the studio’s CEO Stephen Kick, Nightdive apparently came incredibly close to securing the re-release. Here’s what he had to say:

“We @NightdiveStudio came *this* close to doing this, but ultimately I’m thrilled to see GoldenEye returning to modern platforms and more thrilled that @RareLtd is the studio to bring it back”

Unfortunately, Kick didn’t elaborate on how the situation unfolded. Despite not being able to secure GoldenEye 007, as mentioned in the above tweet, he’s still “thrilled” to see this N64 classic return and is glad to see Rare reviving it.

Nightdive Studios currently has its hands full with games like System Shock and the recently announced project, Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition. Kick has previously mentioned how the studio would be interested in reviving other classics like Eternal Darkness, but hasn’t had any luck with Nintendo.

Are you looking forward to revisiting GoldenEye 007 via the Switch Online service? Would you have been interested in seeing what a Nightdive version of this game might have offered? Comment below.