The game was almost never released. Nintendo felt that the game had too many bugs and they stopped funding the project. But Rare had faith in the game and kept funding going.
On the first level, the Dam mission, it is possible to see what has been dubbed the "GoldenIsland", a distant platform with a tower and a gun turret. Go to the very edge of the level's end, to an outcropping pier at the base of the dam. Use the fullest zoom of a sniper rifle to see it. It's also possible to reach it using cheat codes.
The videotape that Bond must steal from the Severnaya bunker (during his escape with Natalya) is a copy of the movie GoldenEye (1995).
A reference to every Bond movie released before GoldenEye is made in some form throughout the game.
According to Grant Kirkhope, the multiplayer feature was added to the game as an afterthought, and took six weeks to develop. The multiplayer ended up becoming one of the game's most revolutionary and well-known features.