Simpsons creator Matt Groening seemingly lets slip that Hit & Run is coming back

Simpsons creator Matt Groening may have just let slip that a Hit & Run comeback is on the way.

During a Simpsons panel at Disney’s D23 event over the weekend, Groening was asked whether a sequel to The Simpsons: Hit & Run – the beloved 2003 GTA-style spin-off – might be on the cards.

“I don’t know [if] I’m speaking out of turn, I think the original game is coming back in some form,” Groening said (thanks, PushSquare). Current showrunner Matt Selman immediately jumped in with “…or not,” trying, if unsuccessfully, to walk the comment back.

It’s not much to go on, but it’s the closest thing to a confirmation Hit & Run has had in years. Fans have wanted a re-release for a while now, and the timing lines up with the studio that made it, Radical Entertainment, rebranding as New Radical Games, a studio that now specialises in remastering classic titles… and just so happens to prominently feature Hit & Run on its site.

A sequel to Hit & Run was actually already in the works once before, of course. Producer John Melchior said in a 2023 interview that Radical had started work on Hit & Run 2, alongside a separate medieval-themed Simpsons game pitched by Groening himself, before original publisher Vivendi turned down a deal for five more Simpsons games. Melchior said he was never told why.

Earlier this year, The Simpsons showrunner and The Simpsons: Hit & Run writer Matt Selman also hinted that we should “never say never” to a possible remake or revival.

Celebrating the show’s 800th(!!) episode, Selman reminded fans that “nothing is set in stone”, not least because he and The Simpsons team know “people love it”.

“Hit & Run is so interesting. I’m a thousand years old, and when I was in my mid to late 20s, I helped write Hit & Run,” Selman said. “I had no idea it would become a cult game, a cult success. Of all the games, the thousands of Simpsons games… that one…”