It seems that the reason why The Simpsons: Hit & Run is a cult classic is already known to you if you have ever spent an afternoon playing the game with Homer Simpson—dodging Chief Wiggum, collecting Buzz Cola cards, and running over innocent mailboxes. This 2003 open-world adventure was not just another quick cash-in on a popular TV show, however. It was genuinely clever, full of charm, and, quite surprisingly, layered. So, it is not surprising at all that gamers are still asking for a remake, a sequel, or any other way to get back to the Family Sedan drive for more than 20 years now.
So, what was so unique about Hit & Run? First off, it was the very first game that let players be part of Springfield. To make it even better, it wasn’t just any Springfield—the entire universe was packed with references, visual jokes, and hidden Easter eggs that gave the game an assumption of being made by people who really loved The Simpsons. Radical Entertainment didn’t just throw together a yellow-tinged imitation of a city; they carefully rebuilt the likes of Moe’s Tavern and the Kwik-E-Mart and also included new lines from the original voice actors. It was like being sucked into a living, breathing episode of the show. The game had gone on to sell over three million copies and got quite a few awards, but the main point was whether it really embodied the outrageous, comedic nature of the show and, at the same time, made a GTA kind of homage to the early 2000s.
But here is the weird thing—and sort of sad. For many years, people have been wondering why the sequel to Hit & Run was never made.. Obviously, the first game was a big hit. According to lead level designer Joe McGinn, the answer to this puzzle is both baffling and infuriating. What happened, as McGinn tells, was that Gracie Films brought a proposition to the developers to make three sequels with all the rights and the voice acting involved without charging a dime. Not charging a dime. However, someone at publisher Vivendi Universal Games said no to the offer without giving any reason. According to McGinn, they never found out who turned down the offer, and even the entire development team was quite shocked by the decision. Looking back, it is the sort of move that makes one want to shout “D’oh! ” very loudly. Turning down free Simpsons rights in the early 2000s?
It’s almost insane even now. The affection for Hit & Run has only grown with time, even though there was never an actual sequel to the game. People have kept on replaying and modding the game for years, and there are even some who have taken it as a challenge to completely overhaul it into a different game; for instance, they have created a fully-fledged Futurama-themed version just for fun. In January 2023, the complete soundtrack of the game was finally released on Spotify and Apple Music, and people on the internet couldn’t stop hoping that a remake would soon be released.
The signal became even stronger when Matt Selman, co-showrunner of The Simpsons, said that he would be delighted to see a proper remaster of the game. Obviously, making it happen is quite another thing. The Simpsons franchise is currently under the Disney umbrella, which means that licensing is a far more complicated affair. Besides, Radical Entertainment, the studio that was behind the first one, is not really there anymore in the same way. Therefore, any new version of the game would have to be created from scratch, and it’s quite a challenge to reproduce the very particular mix of humor, pandemonium, and nostalgia for which the game was so adored.
However, that hasn’t stopped the fans—there are some independent developers who have put together impressive demos with Unreal Engine 5, but as there is no official green light, these hobbyists’ works are always at risk of vanishing.
Still, if the desire to go back to Springfield was ever in doubt, it definitely isn’t now. A well-done follow-up could be a lot better than the first one, given there are two decades of new material to utilize—characters, places, jokes. Imagine not just being able to visit Springfield, but also Shelbyville, Capital City, maybe even Itchy & Scratchy Land, all with today’s open-world tech. Such a game would be the top fans’ greatest dream. Until that time, Hit & Run stands out as a brilliant example of how to get a licensed game right—and a bittersweet reminder of what might have been if someone had just gone “yes” to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Meanwhile, we’ll keep playing the original, listening to the soundtrack, and hoping that someday someone will bring us the return to Springfield we’ve been waiting for.