GoldenEye N64 no longer banned in Germany - sparking speculation it will hit the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service
I've been expecting you.
GoldenEye 007 is no longer banned in Germany.
As our friends at Eurogamer Germany report, Rare's N64 classic is no longer on Germany's list of media that cannot be advertised or sold to minors.
What's interesting is GoldenEye 007's removal from the index comes a year before the expiration that would have occurred automatically after 25 years, which means it was actively removed for some purpose.
What purpose could that be? Eurogamer Germany speculates GoldenEye 007 may now end up as one of the games included in the Switch Online 'Expansion Pack' service.
Earlier this week, Nintendo's N64 and Mega Drive Switch Online apps were datamined, revealing some solid hints at upcoming games, as well as how many are currently planned.
GoldenEye 007 is infamous for being tied up in a complex web of rights issues.
In 2007, Microsoft-owned Rare developed an HD remaster of GoldenEye 007 to be released on Xbox Live Arcade, but copyright disputes saw the project shuttered.
The game leaked online earlier this year. You can watcha a playthrough in the video below:
Would Microsoft ever task Rare with getting its GoldenEye remaster off the ground? It seems unlikely. "GoldenEye rights are so challenging, looked at this many times," Xbox boss Phil Spencer tweeted in 2015. "Lot's of different parties to work with, we've always given up."
Someone, somewhere hasn't given up on the N64 original, though.
Meanwhile, two other games have been deleted from Germany's index: the English version of BloodRayne and the US version of BloodRayne 2.
As Eurogamer Germany points out, Ziggurat Interactive and Big Boat Interactive are currently working on remasters of these two games to be released next month under the name BloodRayne: ReVamped for consoles including Nintendo Switch. It is the debut of BloodRayne 2 on a Nintendo console.