Development for GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64 began in 1995. It was originally envisioned as an on-rails shooter, similar to Sega’s Virtua Cop series.

Developers from Rare were even allowed to visit the GoldenEye movie set for inspiration while working on the game.

Because video game development takes so long, GoldenEye 007 was released two years after the film it was based on—shortly before the release of the next Bond movie, Tomorrow Never Dies.

Most video game journalists were initially pessimistic about the game’s potential, but it became a huge success, selling over 8 million copies and becoming the third best-selling Nintendo 64 game.

Rare used a modified Sega Saturn controller for early playtesting.

Nintendo initially pulled funding for GoldenEye 007, believing the game had too many bugs and wanting to cut their losses. However, Rare had enough faith in the project and found ways to keep development going.

A hidden emulator for the ZX Spectrum computer platform can be found in the game, featuring some of Rare’s classic titles like Sabre Wulf, Jetpac, and Atic Atac.

Despite the multiplayer mode’s popularity, it was actually added as an afterthought—just one month before release.

The developers considered a mechanic where players would reload weapons by unplugging and reinserting the Rumble Pak, but Nintendo advised against it.

About 10 people did the majority of the work on GoldenEye 007, and eight of them had never worked on a video game before.

GoldenEye 007 was the first video game to feature Pierce Brosnan’s likeness, which was later used in six more James Bond games.

The game was developed largely without finalized Nintendo 64 hardware specs, forcing the team to estimate the console’s capabilities—ultimately leading them to overestimate its power.

In an amusing twist, Rare designer Martin Hollis revealed that Shigeru Miyamoto once suggested the game should end with James Bond shaking hands with his enemies in a hospital. Unsurprisingly, the idea was turned down.