The lovingly crafted recreation of the Nintendo 64’s GoldenEye 007 in Far Cry 5 has been removed by Ubisoft, reportedly at the behest of James Bond rights-holder MGM. The news was confirmed by its creator, a YouTuber by the name of Krollywood, as well as Ubisoft itself, although there might still be a way that it eventually finds its way back online for download.
Krollywood spent over three years recreating the popular shooter using the level-building tools provided within Far Cry 5. The entire game is playable, with accurate level layouts and even a few familiar easter eggs thrown in for fans to enjoy again. Krollywood says he was contacted by Ubisoft to inform him that all the levels were being taken down following a copyright infringement claim by MGM (which was recently purchased by Amazon.)
Ubisoft released its own statement (courtesy of Kotaku) regarding the removal of the levels but didn’t specifically name MGM as the reason.
“In following the guidelines within the ‘Terms of Use’, there were maps created within Far Cry 5 arcade that have been removed due to copyright infringement claims from a right [sic] holder received by Ubisoft and are currently unavailable,” the statement reads. “We respect the intellectual property rights of others and expect our users to do the same. This matter is currently with the map’s creator and the rights holder and we have nothing further to share at this time.”
What’s most confusing about the situation is that it was created entirely within Far Cry 5, which doesn’t allow external assets to be used. It’s unlike the situation last year where an Unreal Engine 4 remake project was shut down by MGM too. Krollywood is already working on bringing it back, hoping to have the project restored with a few name changes that should circumvent MGM’s ire.
“Wait for it……I just got an e-mail yesterday, Ubisoft had to remove all levels because of a mail from MGM (Bond-licence),” Kollywood wrote on Reddit. “But I will re-release all levels as soon as possible, just with little changes in the names.”
There are official James Bond games in development too, with Hitman developer IO Interactive having announced a brand-new game with an original story within the IP. A release date has not yet been announced.
Check it out
