The Simpsons: Hit and Run devs reveal plans for cancelled sequel

The Simpsons: Hit & Run was one of my favourite games on the PS2 – it had so many fantastic references to the series, as well as dozens of entertaining side missions to keep you busy for hours. It was nothing short of brilliant. Yet, it never got a sequel. After 20 years of wondering why, the devs have finally opened up about what happened.

Let me be clear: this game was a huge success, having sold three million copies by 2007. For all intents and purposes, it should have got a sequel, though whether that second game would have lived up to the first is anyone’s guess. Personally, I don’t think it could have. However, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be overjoyed to see it finally get a second instalment all these years later.

What other The Simpsons games are as great as Hit and Run? Watch our countdown now!

Some of our hope, however misplaced, has already been rewarded after a fan created a remake of the game. It looks amazing – being able to see all the characters refreshed with smoother graphics is glorious, though it makes me even sadder that this might be the only glimpse we get at modern visuals for the franchise.

So why did the sequel never happen? According to the devs in a recent interview, the franchise was greenlit for several more games, but the project was halted before it properly got underway. It’s a decision that confused everyone involved, as the executive producer of the game, John Melchior, recounts.

“It was a five-game deal for less money than I think Vivendi paid for the first game,” Melchior then talked about his boss’ reaction to the news at the time, saying, "He was just like, 'I don't understand. I gave it to you on a silver platter. Why aren't you just saying yes and doing these games?' It was just a really bizarre decision. I'll never understand it. Most people on the production level never understood it."

“This was going to be a franchise, no doubt in anybody's mind," Melchior added, only for the game designer, Darren Evenson, to jump into the conversation and make this cut even deeper. "It was a no-brainer; it was like, well of course we're going to be doing this. The stars are aligned, we're treading down this path. And then it was just like, 'Huh, I guess we're not’.”

Excuse me while I go and scream into a pillow… Jokes (kind of) aside, it wasn’t just fans who were denied a franchise that likely would have still been going today, but the developers too. Who knows where Homer and co could have taken us; it’s sad we’ll never know.