The Simpsons: Hit & Run is still regarded as one of the cult-classic games which people often talk about; in case you didn’t know the reason, you would have discovered it just by playing this game for a whole afternoon, and that too, just racing against time as Homer Simpson. Chief Wiggum, you would have been avoiding, while at the same time collecting Buzz Cola cards and running over the unsuspecting mailboxes. The open-world action game of 2003 was not one of those easy money made out of a popular TV show. Honestly, it was quite smart, full of characters, and in a surprising way, it was even quite complex. That’s why players are still so in love with this game and are still asking for a remake or a follow-up, or basically, any excuse to get back in the car and behind the steering wheel of the Family Sedan again is still no surprise.
What made Hit & Run so new? Before anything else, it was the first game to let players live in Springfield. And not just any Springfield—this was a world packed with references, jokes at the visuals, and hidden Easter eggs that gave the sense that the game was made by people who loved The Simpsons. Radical Entertainment didn’t just cobble together a yellow-tinged imitation of a city; they tore down and rebuilt the tightly packed bar of Moe’s Tavern and the stereotypical corner store of the Kwik-E-Mart, and even threw in brand new lines from the original voice actors. It was like being transported into a breathing, living episode of the show.
The game had sold more than three million copies and received quite a few awards, but the most important thing was whether it was the accurate translation of the show’s outrageous, comedic attitude, while simultaneously being a respectful nod to the GTA frenzy of the early 2000s.
But here’s the odd part—and sort of sad. People have been asking for years: why wasn’t there ever a Hit & Run 2? The initial game was a huge success, of course. The solution, as it turns out from lead level designer Joe McGinn, is both confusing and infuriating. As McGinn explains, Gracie Films presented the developers with a proposal to make three sequels—with all the rights and voice acting involved—for free. Free. But someone at publisher Vivendi Universal Games said no for no apparent reason. McGinn has stated they never did discover who rejected the deal, and even the development team was surprised. In retrospect, now, it’s the type of head-scratching move that makes you want to yell “D’oh! ” at the top of your lungs. Rejecting free Simpsons rights back in the early 2000s?
Even now, that’s just about crazy. Although the sequel never actually happened, the affection for Hit & Run hasn’t decreased—just increased. Fans have replayed and modded it for years, and some have even converted it into entirely different experiences, such as a full-fledged Futurama-themed version simply for entertainment purposes. In January 2023, the complete soundtrack of the game finally became available on Spotify and Apple Music, and the internet went into a hope frenzy that a remake was finally a possibility.
And the rumblings only got louder when Matt Selman, co-showrunner of The Simpsons, said he’d be happy to see the game receive a proper remaster. Of course, getting it done is one thing and quite another. The Simpsons franchise is now owned by Disney, so licensing is a much more complex process. And Radical Entertainment, the company that made the first one, doesn’t exist in quite the same form anymore. Any new iteration would have to be remade from the ground up, and it’s no easy feat to recreate the very particular blend of humor, chaos, and nostalgia that the game was so well-loved for.
That hasn’t prevented enthusiasts, however, some independent developers have created beautiful demos using Unreal Engine 5, but with no formal go-ahead, those hobby efforts always threaten to disappear.
Nonetheless, if anything, the appetite for a return to Springfield is as great as ever. With twenty years of new content to draw upon—characters, places, gags—a well-made sequel could far surpass the original. Picture not only visiting Springfield, but Shelbyville, Capital City, perhaps even Itchy & Scratchy Land, all with today’s open-world technology. A game like this would be a fan’s greatest wish. Until that day arrives, Hit & Run remains a shining example of how to nail a licensed game—and a bittersweet reminder of what could’ve been if someone had just said “yes” to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For now, we’ll keep replaying the original, streaming the soundtrack, and holding out hope that someday, someone will finally bring us the return to Springfield we’ve been waiting for.