Something slipped out at D23 that the internet has not stopped talking about since. When asked about the beloved 2003 game The Simpsons: Hit and Run, series creator Matt Groening said, “I think the original game is coming back in some form.” The current showrunner standing next to him quickly added a nervous “or not,” which somehow made the whole moment feel even more revealing. Body language rarely lies, and this particular exchange had the unmistakable energy of someone who just said more than they were supposed to.
Why This Game Still Has Such a Devoted Following
Hit and Run launched in September 2003 across PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and Windows, and it became one of the most celebrated licensed games of its era. At a time when movie and TV tie-in games were largely throwaway cash grabs, this one actually delivered. It borrowed the open-world structure of Grand Theft Auto while wrapping it in sharp Simpsons writing and an authentic voice cast that brought Springfield to life in a way no game had managed before.
The game sold over 3 million copies in its first year alone and earned strong review scores across every platform. Two decades later, fan communities are still modding it, speedrunning it, and campaigning loudly for a modern re-release. There is no official way to play it on current consoles. It sits outside the PlayStation Plus Classics Catalog and the Xbox backward compatibility program, which means anyone who wants to revisit Springfield today has to dig out old hardware or rely on unofficial PC solutions.
What a Modern Re-Release Could Actually Look Like
The simplest path would be a straight port, bringing the original code to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch. That alone would satisfy a large portion of the fanbase. But the more exciting possibility is a full HD remaster with rebuilt environments, sharper textures, and modern performance targets.
One logistical hurdle that would not apply here is voice acting. The original game featured the core cast in top form, delivering lines that still hold up perfectly. A remaster team would not need to round everyone up for new sessions, which removes one of the most expensive and complicated parts of revisiting a classic licensed title. The music licenses and character rights would be the bigger challenges to sort through, but Disney’s ownership of the Fox catalog makes those conversations at least theoretically simpler to navigate than they once were.
What This Means for Gamers Ready to Buy
If a remaster or port is genuinely in development, it will almost certainly land on every major current platform and likely appear on subscription services like Game Pass or PlayStation Plus at launch or shortly after. For consumers who have been waiting years to revisit this Springfield sandbox legally and conveniently, the timing could not be better. A polished re-release of a proven fan favorite is exactly the kind of low-risk, high-reward purchase that sells itself the moment it appears in a storefront.
