# GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game)
**GoldenEye 007** is a 1997 first-person shooter for the [Nintendo 64](https://www.edgepedia.org/nintendo-64), developed by the British studio Rare and based on the 1995 [James Bond](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-bond) film *GoldenEye* directed by [Martin Campbell](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-campbell).[1](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cultural-life-of-james-bond/three-dimensions-of-bond-adaptive-fidelity-and-fictional-coherence-in-the-videogame-adaptations-of-goldeneye/1B4AEB3CE7E57F7139E033EB069A66C2) It became the third best-selling Nintendo 64 game of all time behind Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64, sold more than 8 million copies, and is widely credited with proving that first-person shooters could succeed on consoles.[2](https://apnews.com/article/2e4ad6ec2258d482dc3a34ed324ee7f5) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/aug/19/nintendo-64-n64-goldeneye-007-rare-james-bond-making-of)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Developer / platform | Rare, for the Nintendo 64, as a console-exclusive title commissioned by Nintendo[1](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cultural-life-of-james-bond/three-dimensions-of-bond-adaptive-fidelity-and-fictional-coherence-in-the-videogame-adaptations-of-goldeneye/1B4AEB3CE7E57F7139E033EB069A66C2) |
| Release | August 23, 1997 (Japan), August 25, 1997 (North America), November 7, 1997 (UK)[4](https://goldeneyedepot.com/prerelease) |
| Director | Martin Hollis, who wrote the design document in April 1995[4](https://goldeneyedepot.com/prerelease) |
| Sales | More than 8 million copies; third best-selling N64 game behind Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64[3](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/aug/19/nintendo-64-n64-goldeneye-007-rare-james-bond-making-of) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/2e4ad6ec2258d482dc3a34ed324ee7f5) |
| Multiplayer | Four-player split-screen deathmatch, credited by Hall of Fame experts with influencing many multiplayer games that followed[2](https://apnews.com/article/2e4ad6ec2258d482dc3a34ed324ee7f5) |
| Critical standing | Metacritic score of 96, still the highest-rated Bond game[5](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/action/007-first-lights-metacritic-score-might-make-the-james-bond-romp-io-interactives-highest-rated-game-yet-but-goldeneye-remains-king/) |
| Re-release | January 27, 2023 on Nintendo Switch Online (with online play) and Xbox, including Xbox Game Pass[6](https://www.007.com/goldeneye-007-launches-on-nintendo-switch-online-and-xbox-game-pass/) |
| Recognition | Inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame in 2025[2](https://apnews.com/article/2e4ad6ec2258d482dc3a34ed324ee7f5) |
## Development
Nintendo approached Rare in 1995 about making a game based on the then-untitled Bond film, whose rights Nintendo's president [Hiroshi Yamauchi](https://www.edgepedia.org/hiroshi-yamauchi) had recently bought.[1](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cultural-life-of-james-bond/three-dimensions-of-bond-adaptive-fidelity-and-fictional-coherence-in-the-videogame-adaptations-of-goldeneye/1B4AEB3CE7E57F7139E033EB069A66C2) • [7](https://pure.bond.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/36069225/Scott_Knight_Thesis.pdf) In 1993, Rare hired Martin Hollis, who held a computer science degree from Cambridge University, and he drafted a brief proposal for a Bond game modeled on arcade light-gun titles like Virtua Cop, which management approved.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/aug/19/nintendo-64-n64-goldeneye-007-rare-james-bond-making-of)
**The project changed direction early.** What began as an on-rails shooter in the mold of Sega's Virtua Cop became a free-moving first-person shooter, described by the team as a synthesis of Virtua Cop and id Software's Doom.[8](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/video-the-making-of-i-goldeneye-007-i-) • [9](https://www.raregamer.co.uk/games/the-golden-touch-edge-interviews-the-goldeneye-007-team/) Because the Nintendo 64 hardware did not yet exist, development ran on a $150,000 Silicon Graphics Onyx computer, an approximation of what the console would become, and the team later found the early hardware build quite different from the emulator.[8](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/video-the-making-of-i-goldeneye-007-i-) • [9](https://www.raregamer.co.uk/games/the-golden-touch-edge-interviews-the-goldeneye-007-team/) The game engine took about a year to get running, and the game was first shown publicly as a video at the Shoshinkai trade show in Japan in November 1995.[9](https://www.raregamer.co.uk/games/the-golden-touch-edge-interviews-the-goldeneye-007-team/) • [4](https://goldeneyedepot.com/prerelease)
The game was built by 12 young people, most of whom had not worked in video game development before, working under punishing conditions at Rare's rural Twycross, Leicestershire site.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/aug/19/nintendo-64-n64-goldeneye-007-rare-james-bond-making-of) • [9](https://www.raregamer.co.uk/games/the-golden-touch-edge-interviews-the-goldeneye-007-team/) The team worked from early morning until 11 at night, and in the final push worked 100-hour weeks back to back.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/aug/19/nintendo-64-n64-goldeneye-007-rare-james-bond-making-of) Hollis has said that midway through development he played the first level and concluded, in his words, that the game sucked, prompting a renewed design effort.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/aug/19/nintendo-64-n64-goldeneye-007-rare-james-bond-making-of)
**Multiplayer came late.** Work on the competitive mode began in spring 1997, near the end of a development period of roughly two and a half years, and animator Brett Jones recalled that the team had crowbarred it in but everyone was playing it constantly.[4](https://goldeneyedepot.com/prerelease) • [9](https://www.raregamer.co.uk/games/the-golden-touch-edge-interviews-the-goldeneye-007-team/) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/aug/19/nintendo-64-n64-goldeneye-007-rare-james-bond-making-of)
## Gameplay
The single-player campaign follows the story of the 1995 film through 19 missions, plus two unlockable bonus missions inspired by the [Roger Moore](https://www.edgepedia.org/roger-moore) films *[Moonraker](https://www.edgepedia.org/moonraker-film)* and *[Live and Let Die](https://www.edgepedia.org/live-and-let-die-film)*.[10](https://goldeneyedossier.wixsite.com/bond/the-original) Objectives varied based on the selected difficulty level, and the game was noted for its mission-based gameplay, improved enemy AI, and architecturally believable level designs.[11](https://www.creativebloq.com/3d/video-game-design/this-retro-indie-game-rekindles-the-spirit-of-a-james-bond-classic) • [1](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cultural-life-of-james-bond/three-dimensions-of-bond-adaptive-fidelity-and-fictional-coherence-in-the-videogame-adaptations-of-goldeneye/1B4AEB3CE7E57F7139E033EB069A66C2)
The multiplayer mode divided the screen into four quarters, one for each player, with up to four players competing in scenarios based on elements from *You Only Live Twice*, *The Living Daylights*, *The Man With the Golden Gun*, and *Licence to Kill*.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/aug/19/nintendo-64-n64-goldeneye-007-rare-james-bond-making-of) • [6](https://www.007.com/goldeneye-007-launches-on-nintendo-switch-online-and-xbox-game-pass/) The N64 controller's analog stick was central to the control design; Hollis said the team went through many control systems, and a Turok-style option was added last after two employees requested it.[9](https://www.raregamer.co.uk/games/the-golden-touch-edge-interviews-the-goldeneye-007-team/)
## Reception and sales
The film had already been out for two years when the game launched in August 1997, which freed it from the punishing tie-in schedule that usually constrained movie games.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/aug/19/nintendo-64-n64-goldeneye-007-rare-james-bond-making-of) It received a Metacritic score of 96, which remains the highest-rated Bond game on that site.[5](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/action/007-first-lights-metacritic-score-might-make-the-james-bond-romp-io-interactives-highest-rated-game-yet-but-goldeneye-remains-king/) Its popularity caused many consumers to buy the N64 solely to play it, making it the console's first killer application.[12](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=bgsu1300365433&disposition=inline) The game dominated Blockbuster rental charts for three years, and the development team tracked the rising weekly figures as evidence that the game was breaking market rules.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/aug/19/nintendo-64-n64-goldeneye-007-rare-james-bond-making-of)
The game won a BAFTA award.[13](https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/downloads/ring/ring-2008-05.pdf) In May 2025 it was inducted into the [World Video Game Hall of Fame](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-video-game-hall-of-fame) at The Strong National Museum of Play, with experts citing its four-person multiplayer mode as an influence on many multiplayer games that followed.[2](https://apnews.com/article/2e4ad6ec2258d482dc3a34ed324ee7f5)
## Legacy
GoldenEye 007 brought the first-person shooter to consoles and, in the words of its director, paved the way for console shooters like *Halo* and countless others; some commentators argue it gave rise to games like *Halo* and *Call of Duty*.[8](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/video-the-making-of-i-goldeneye-007-i-) • [11](https://www.creativebloq.com/3d/video-game-design/this-retro-indie-game-rekindles-the-spirit-of-a-james-bond-classic) Before its release, the first-person shooter was largely confined to the PC; earlier console ports of *[Doom](https://www.edgepedia.org/doom-1993-video-game)* did not even allow split-screen multiplayer.[14](https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/philrowen/goldeneye-007-legacy)
**The team's aftermath was mixed.** Rare divided 12 cents from every copy sold among the 12-person team according to seniority and logged overtime, rising to 17.5 cents at higher sales; animator Brett Jones received about £6,000 for several thousand hours of overtime. Dissatisfaction with the bonuses led designer David Doak to leave Rare in 1998, and most of the [GoldenEye](https://www.edgepedia.org/goldeneye) team followed. Microsoft bought Rare in September 2002 for $375 million.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/aug/19/nintendo-64-n64-goldeneye-007-rare-james-bond-making-of) The game's legacy includes a 2004 [Electronic Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/electronic-arts) spin-off, *GoldenEye: Rogue Agent*, and a 2010 reboot for the Wii featuring [Daniel Craig](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-craig)'s Bond.[10](https://goldeneyedossier.wixsite.com/bond/the-original)
In January 2023 the game returned on modern platforms: on [Nintendo Switch Online](https://www.edgepedia.org/nintendo-switch-online) + Expansion Pack with online play, and on [Xbox One](https://www.edgepedia.org/xbox-one), Xbox Series X|S, and [Xbox Game Pass](https://www.edgepedia.org/xbox-game-pass), where the Xbox version lacks online multiplayer. Players who own a digital copy of *Rare Replay* can download it free of charge.[6](https://www.007.com/goldeneye-007-launches-on-nintendo-switch-online-and-xbox-game-pass/) • [15](https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2023/01/26/goldeneye-007-xbox-game-pass-out-now/) A fan-led project completed a 100 percent decompilation of the game's code, opening the way for complex mods and ports.[16](https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/goldeneye-007-for-n64-has-been-100-percent-decompiled-success-of-half-decade-project-opens-up-possibilities-for-complex-mods-and-ports)
## References
1. [Three Dimensions of Bond: Adaptive Fidelity and Fictional Coherence in the Videogame Adaptations of GoldenEye, The Cultural Life of James Bond (Cambridge University Press)](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cultural-life-of-james-bond/three-dimensions-of-bond-adaptive-fidelity-and-fictional-coherence-in-the-videogame-adaptations-of-goldeneye/1B4AEB3CE7E57F7139E033EB069A66C2)
2. [World Video Game Hall of Fame inducts Defender, Tamagotchi, GoldenEye 007 and Quake, AP News (May 2025)](https://apnews.com/article/2e4ad6ec2258d482dc3a34ed324ee7f5)
3. [The game's Bond: the making of Nintendo classic GoldenEye 007, The Guardian (2022)](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/aug/19/nintendo-64-n64-goldeneye-007-rare-james-bond-making-of)
4. [Prerelease - The GoldenEye Depot](https://goldeneyedepot.com/prerelease)
5. [007 First Light's Metacritic score... but GoldenEye remains king, GamesRadar+ (2026)](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/action/007-first-lights-metacritic-score-might-make-the-james-bond-romp-io-interactives-highest-rated-game-yet-but-goldeneye-remains-king/)
6. [GoldenEye 007 Game Launches, James Bond 007 (007.com, 2023)](https://www.007.com/goldeneye-007-launches-on-nintendo-switch-online-and-xbox-game-pass/)
7. [Scott J. Knight PhD thesis, Bond University](https://pure.bond.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/36069225/Scott_Knight_Thesis.pdf)
8. [Video: The making of GoldenEye 007, Game Developer (2013)](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/video-the-making-of-i-goldeneye-007-i-)
9. [The Golden Touch - Edge Interviews the GoldenEye 007 Team, Rare Gamer (Edge, 1997)](https://www.raregamer.co.uk/games/the-golden-touch-edge-interviews-the-goldeneye-007-team/)
10. [GOLDENEYE 007 (N64), GoldenEye Dossier](https://goldeneyedossier.wixsite.com/bond/the-original)
11. [This retro indie game rekindles the spirit of a James Bond classic, Creative Bloq (2026)](https://www.creativebloq.com/3d/video-game-design/this-retro-indie-game-rekindles-the-spirit-of-a-james-bond-classic)
12. ["You've Seen the Movie, Now Play the Video Game": Recoding the Cinematic in Digital Media and Virtual Culture, OhioLINK ETD](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=bgsu1300365433&disposition=inline)
13. [The Ring, Issue XVIII, May 2008, Cambridge Computer Laboratory](https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/downloads/ring/ring-2008-05.pdf)
14. [GoldenEye 007: The Game That Mattered to Everyone, Complex (2015)](https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/philrowen/goldeneye-007-legacy)
15. [Bond is Back! GoldenEye 007 Arrives on Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Wire (2023)](https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2023/01/26/goldeneye-007-xbox-game-pass-out-now/)
16. [GoldenEye 007 for N64 has been '100% decompiled', Tom's Hardware (2026)](https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/goldeneye-007-for-n64-has-been-100-percent-decompiled-success-of-half-decade-project-opens-up-possibilities-for-complex-mods-and-ports)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Games and gameplay › Individual game titles › Individual Nintendo-platform game titles › Nintendo 64, GameCube, and Wii titles*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license