GoldenEye’s fan remake has been shut down after three years of development

A fan project aiming to rebuild classic N64 shooter GoldenEye 007 in Unreal Engine 4 has been shut down after three years of development.

Goldeneye 25 was the work of self-taught 3D artist Ben Colclough due to release alongside the Rare FPS’s 25^th anniversary in August 2022. Swiss composer Yannick Zenhausern was due to create the game’s music.

The remake – which was inspired by another canned GoldenEye project for Xbox Live Arcade – had received regular praise from original GoldenEye developers including designer David Doak.

However, in a statement published on Tuesday it was confirmed that the GoldenEye 25 project would cease development at the request of Bond rights holder MGM.

“This was always in the back of our heads as a possibility but we’ve tried our best to keep going,” the GoldenEye 25 team said. “Of course we will comply and want to thank you for your ongoing support.”

https://twitter.com/007GoldenEye25/status/1293090610862272512?s=20

As reported by Nintendo Life, The GoldenEye 25 project will now be repurposed into a “90s action shooter” based on the weapons and gadgets created for the remake.

In a video posted on Tuesday, composer Zenhausern claimed that most of the assets created for GoldenEye 25 could be reused in the new project, as long as any references to James Bond were removed.

“We’re going to change the storyline, basically,” he said. “It’s going to be different, but it’s still going to have those elements of that beloved, 90s shooter that we all love so much. So it will still be very much in the spirit of that old game.”

Goldeneye designer David Doak said he was “deeply saddened and disappointed” following the news, but excited to see what the new project becomes. “Thank you for a marvellous glimpse of what might have been,” he wrote.

The original GoldenEye lead Martin Hollis also shared the news, writing: “Oh no, the lovely GoldenEye remake got a cease & desist from Danjaq/Eon”.

There hasn’t been a major Bond game release since 2012’s 007 Legends, which was developed by Eurocom and published by Activision.