To quote Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, "Good news, everyone." After giving up hope that we'll ever see a true sequel to The Simpsons: Hit & Run, we're now getting something that's arguably much better.
Don't worry if you've forgotten the keys to the Plow King because Futurama: Hit & Run is here to scratch that automotive itch.
Better yet, it won't even cost the price of a can of Slurm to play.
Even though The Simpsons IP might not be what it used to be, America's favorite family doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon. After 20 years of waiting, 2025 heralded confirmation that The Simpsons Movie is finally getting a sequel, and just when you thought things couldn't get any better, Futurama: Hit & Run is finally here to bring another of Matt Groening's kooky creations to life in pixel form.
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Back in the day, The Simpsons IP was known for cashing in on major gaming trends, like the Crazy Taxi-inspired The Simpsons: Road Rage, GTA-esque The Simpsons: Hit & Run, and 2007's The Simpsons Game, honoring our love of platformers like Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot.
None quite had the success of Hit & Run, but while there were grand plans for a sequel, it all fell apart.
Hit & Run Executive Producer John Melchoir confirmed that Radical Entertainment was working on a Hit & Run sequel, with another developer busy tinkering away on a 'Medieval' Simpsons game.
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Sadly, publisher Vivendi Universal Games failed to acquire the licensing and rejected an unknown offer to take the reins of the franchise. This left Electronic Arts to swoop in and claim The Simpsons for itself. In the end, Radical Entertainment was absorbed into Activision, Vivendi was gobbled by EA, and the rights to Hit & Run remain a major point of contention – hence why we've never had a remaster.
It's been over to fans to do the hard work for the developers, with some already stitching together the various fragments of Hit & Run to make an (unofficial) open-world remaster.
Now, a group of modders from Slurm Team has taken the bare bones of Hit & Run and given it a Futurama facelift.
Officially live, the free-to-play Futurama: Hit & Run puts you in the body of Philip J. Fry, sporting a variety of different costumes and racing around New New York in some familiar Futurama vehicles.
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The mod is available to download from the Futurama: Hit & Run site, boasting a handful of missions and vehicles.
Despite the demo only having AI-generated voice lines, there are promises that the full mod will have proper voice actors taking on the roles of Fry and the rest of the Planet Express crew. Considering it's been 22 years since we first played The Simpsons: Hit & Run, we'll take whatever we can get right now.
There are a couple of caveats, and as well as players needing to legally own a copy of Hit & Run on PC, they'll also need to download Lucas' Mod Launcher.
Safe to say, the fan project has gone down a storm online, with even one of the original Hit & Run developers sharing his love for the Futurama remodel. Posting on the demo's trailer, Joe McGinn gushed: "As the lead designer of the original game, I can only say ... this looks awesome! I want to play it."
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With The Simpsons Movie 2 coming out in 2027, could we finally get a Hit & Run sequel? If not, at least we'll hopefully have a full Futurama: Hit & Run by then.