The anticipated GoldenEye 007 reboot just got 2020’d.

It seems that even a relatively low-risk operation like rebooting an iconic video game IP can’t escape the ire of 2020. In a development that is very much on trend with the rest of this dumpster fire of a year, news has come through that the eagerly awaited GoldenEye 007 reboot, titled GoldenEye 25, has ended development, effective immediately.

The beloved Nintendo 64 title was originally released 23 years ago and in the years since, has shot up exponentially in terms of sentimental value. Realising this, developers GoldenZen began work on bringing the title into the current era using the incredibly slick Unreal Engine 4. However, after two years of development, the title’s rights owners have chimed in, issuing a cease and desist over use of their intellectual property.

Which, as staunch supporters of creative rights, is only fair. It hurts, but it’s only fair.

Gamebyte, who’ve been on the beat since the reboot was announced in 2018, reported that the developers’ social media accounts have since been deleted. Before going quiet, they explained that they were “kindly asked by the IP holder (MGM/Danjaq) to cease development of GoldenEye 25.”

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

“We cannot do a Bond game but we can still do a great game with all the beloved aspects of our favourite 90’s action shooter.”

While there was still a fair way to go until its scheduled 2022 release date, it’s clear that the developers had already invested a hefty amount of work on the project. Indeed, so much so that they’ve decided not to scrap it all together.

Via a new social media account dubbed SpiesDontDie, the same team has announced plans to re-set up shop and use what they’ve already created to make a new title and IP entirely.

“We’re not allowed to continue using the name GoldenEye or the James Bond characters. We’ll take what we’ve made and create an original game”, the developers revealed.

This isn’t necessarily a total loss. A new title with connective tissue to our beloved GoldenEye could be both a healthy hit of nostalgia with a current, fresh take on the whole First Person Shooter deal.

Let’s just try and not let 2020 hear about it.