A sequel to The Simpsons: Hit & Run was in the works, but production was halted and developers don’t know why

The Simpsons: Hit & Run has become a popular name when referencing early 00’s gaming. But, since its release in 2003 and despite the game’s success, no efforts have been made to recreate the experience and breathe a new life into a well-loved title. Or so we thought. 

In an interview posted to the MinnMax YouTube channel on November 20, developers responsible for The Simpsons: Hit & Run shared some information on why the popular action-adventure game didn’t receive a sequel or follow-up. According to executive producer John Melchior, when asked why production of the game was halted, he responded: “I don’t know.” Before continuing “This was going to be a franchise no doubt in everybody’s mind.”

When continuing the discussion of the canceled project, Melchior stated: “It was sad because I think we had a ton of momentum. There was no momentum loss between the shipping of this game and the work being done on the sequel.” 

However, even though the developers were keen, it looks as though there were a few holes in the game’s potential story. In the same interview, designer and writer Chris Mitchell shared “Quite frankly, it was all over the map because in those early days kind of everybody just imagines what they want, so I’m sure there were 12 competing storylines at that point. Who knows what the final story would’ve been?”

Designer Darren Everson also added “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 a, ‘Huh, yeah I guess we’re not.’ so it was like just disbelief, pure disbelief.”

So unfortunately, it doesn’t look like a sequel or follow-up on The Simpsons: Hit & Run will be landing on consoles or PC any time in the future. Despite the team’s love of the game’s legacy, it doesn’t look as though the 2003 cult classic will be getting a follow-up any time soon.

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