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Fans of The Simpsons: Hit and Run may have noticed the 2003 game has been in the news as of late. While in recent years, The Simpsons: Hit and Run has sporadically popped up in gaming discussion, ordinarily, this would involve a rumor relating to a potential re-release. However, this time around, talk of the game, isn't about a rumor but rather a playable demo of a possible remake.
A playable updated version of the first level of The Simpsons: Hit and Run was made available in the past couple of weeks, however, this has since been taken down. The playable demo showed a glimpse of what The Simpsons: Hit and Run could look like were it to be remade in the modern-day, but it was not made in an official capacity. The demo was instead a fan-made remake by YouTuber Reubs and drew widespread applause, including from Joe McGinn, the lead designer of the original title. But with The Simpsons: Hit and Run back in the news, is it possible that fans could be seeing a remake soon?
The Impressive Fan-Made Remake of The Simpsons: Hit and Run
Reubs has recently generated a lot of excitement among fans of The Simpsons: Hit and Run. The Youtuber and developer was able to remake the opening level of The Simpsons: Hit and Run in Unreal Engine 5, with impressive results. The fan-made remake was capable of 4K graphics and ray tracing and was available to the public via the creator’s Patreon account. The end result was a highly impressive feat and had many even more excited for the possibility of a remake of the popular Simpsons video game in the future. However, excitement would soon be cut short as gamers were soon unable to play the demo of the Simpsons game.
The playable demo was taken down by the creator recently and is no longer available to download. Reubs cited copyright concerns as the reason for the game’s premature end to its lifespan but declined to elaborate on where these concerns came from. Of course, the remake contained plenty of assets from The Simpsons: Hit and Run, so the takedown maybe doesn’t come as too much of a surprise. During its short life, however, the fan remake managed to garner quite a lot of attention, netting the original video in which the remake was showcased over one million views. If nothing else, this fan remake may have shown the love fans of The Simpsons have for the gaming IP that has sat on the back burner for almost 20 years.
Could a Remake of The Simpsons: Hit and Run be on the Way?
Despite heavy fan interest in a Simpsons: Hit and Run remake, there has been no official news of a remake being on the way. However, the copyright claim of the Hit and Run remake could be an indication of some intent to use the Simpsons: Hit and Run IP. The game is available only on PC, GameCube, PS2, and the original Xbox and is at this point almost 18 years old, so the copyright protection of the IP could come across as surprising. However, the creator of the fan-made remake did not confirm which legal entity took down their remake. This leaves fans in the dark somewhat, as it’s unclear whether the takedown could in some way be related to a remake.
A remake of The Simpsons: Hit and Run would definitely be of interest to gamers. In recent times there have been rumors of the highly-requested remake of The Simpsons: Hit and Run, which could explain why a fan-made remake would be taken down, but so far none of these have proved to be accurate. Producer of The Simpsons, Matt Selman, has thrown his support behind a potential remake of the game stating he would “love to” see one. However, he has also expressed his doubts due to complications behind licensing of the franchise. Notably, Disney is now the owner of the franchise, and Radical Entertainment, the developer of the original game has since shut down. A Simpsons: Hit and Run remake is complicated, but it seems that it would be a big success.
The Simpsons: Hit and Run is out on GameCube, PC, PS2, and Xbox.