The Simpsons Hit and Run is coming back in some form, says Matt Groening

The Simpsons: Hit & Run could be making a return — series creator Matt Groening said as much at the D23 2026 Disney fan event, though the announcement came with an immediate asterisk. Current showrunner Matt Selman quickly followed up Groening's comment with a dry "…or not," leaving the whole thing in a very uncertain place.

Groening's exact words were "I think the original game is coming back in some form" — phrasing that points toward a remaster or remake rather than a sequel or full reboot. No official announcement has been made, and nothing has been confirmed by a publisher or developer. The original Hit & Run launched in 2003 on GameCube, PlayStation 2, and the original Xbox, developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Games.

The game has a devoted fanbase for good reason. It blended GTA-style open-world gameplay with Springfield's look and the show's humor in a way that few licensed games have managed before or since. IGN scored it 8.1/10 at launch, calling it "undeniably the perfect game for Simpsons fans." In 2023, original developers told MinnMax they were genuinely surprised the game had never been revived. Earlier this year, Selman himself teased that fans should "never say never" — so Groening's slip at D23 didn't come completely out of nowhere.

Social media lit up after the panel, with fans treating Groening's comment as near-confirmation of something in the works. Until a publisher steps forward with something concrete, though, it's worth keeping expectations measured — Groening may have said more than he was supposed to, or he may simply be out of the loop on the actual status of any project.