Matt Groening, co-creator of The Simpsons, said at a fan convention panel that he expects a Simpsons Hit and Run remaster to happen. The comment caught fans off guard, and current showrunner Matt Selman disputed it on the spot.
The exchange happened during a Simpsons panel at the ongoing D23 Disney fan event, Disney’s biennial expo for previewing upcoming projects. A question about the series turned to the 2003 tie-in game The Simpsons: Hit & Run. “I think the original game is coming back in some form,” Groening said. Selman, sitting beside him, replied “Or not” within seconds. Empire first reported the exchange on X.
Why a Simpsons Hit and Run remaster would matter
The Simpsons: Hit & Run released on PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube in 2003. It let players drive and run through Springfield completing open-world missions styled after Grand Theft Auto. Selman wrote the original script, and he has not ruled out a return. Earlier this year, he told fans to “never say never” about the franchise revisiting the material. His on-panel denial, then, reads less like a flat no. It reads more like a request to stay quiet before an announcement.
Groening is an executive producer with limited day-to-day involvement in Simpsons production. His comment could reflect outdated information rather than confirmed plans for a Simpsons Hit and Run remaster. Still, the timing fits a familiar trend. Publishers have leaned into reviving licensed games from the same era. SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated is one example, a remaster of a PS2-era tie-in with a similar cult following.
What fans remember about the original game
Hit & Run built a lasting fanbase among players who grew up in the PS2 era. Many of them were not allowed to play Grand Theft Auto games because of their content. The Simpsons license offered a similar open-world structure, but with cartoon violence instead of Grand Theft Auto’s crime plots. That substitution created years of nostalgia, and it has kept remaster rumors alive across forums and social media long after the game’s 2003 release.
Since then, Hit & Run has maintained an active community of modders and preservationists. They have reverse-engineered the original PC code to fix bugs, restore cut content, and keep the game running on modern hardware. That grassroots effort has repeatedly resurfaced remaster petitions aimed at Disney, which now controls the Simpsons license.
No developer, publisher, or release window has been confirmed for a potential Simpsons Hit and Run remaster. Disney and Selman’s production team have yet to issue an official statement beyond the panel exchange. For now, fans are left parsing a two-word denial for clues about what comes next.