GoldenEye Xbox 360 remaster was nearly complete, according to former devs

The canceled GoldenEye remaster for the Xbox 360 was painfully close to completion, two former developers on the project have revealed.

Speaking to Ars Technica, artist Ross Bury and programmer Mark Edmonds reveal that the cancelation notice of the GoldenEye remaster for the Xbox 360 came right at the end of the development cycle. The two former Rare developers detail how there were only 90 bugs left to quash in the QA stage of the Xbox 360 remaster, which is an incredibly low number for a big release.

This all follows after the GoldenEye remaster for Xbox 360 leaked online last week, revealing the remaster that we never got to play. Shortly after, a playable version of the canceled project leaked online, with the user who first uncovered it using an Xenia emulator to achieve a high frame rate.

Taking a look at the leaked playable version of the GoldenEye remaster, Bury and Edmonds tell Ars Technica that a "more final" version of the build existed, and cleaned up a few issues encountered in the leaked version. This "more final" version has a slate of new art assets, including weapons, vehicles, and more.

It's a crying shame that the GoldenEye remaster for the Xbox 360 came so close to seeing the light of day. Elsewhere in the interview, the Rare developers say that the project got a nearly unanimous vote of approval from Nintendo, with the exception of one unnamed executive, who canned the project since it was a creation originally intended for a Nintendo console.

For more on the seminal classic, head over to our look back on the making of GoldenEye with former Rare developers.