Fan-Made Simpsons: Hit And Run Demo Created In A Week, Then Taken Down Due To Copyright Issues

Unreal developer and YouTuber reubs showcased how he remastered The Simpsons: Hit And Run, updated with 4K graphics and ray tracing capabilities. At the same time, he released a playable demo of his work that was unceremoniously taken down due to undisclosed copyright concerns.

In an approximately 13-minute long video, reubs demonstrated the process of remastering Hit And Run. This included several convoluted steps, like exporting all the map's art assets, programming the playable characters, and adding in the vehicles. The result is a gorgeous-looking experience, with smooth animations and striking visuals that look more in line with modern games. Reubs also implemented a first-person mode just for the fun of it.

Alongside dropping the video, reubs published a free demo of the game's first mission. According to the description in the video, though, it was taken down. He cited "copyright concerns" but didn't disclose who had issues.

The Simpsons: Hit And Run is a 2003 GTA-inspired action-adventure game developed by Radical Entertainment. A product of its time, it's largely unavailable to play outside of old physical copies, which tend to either be sold out at retailers or cost more than it should online. Unfortunately, paying upwards of $50 USD for a disc seems to be the only way to get ahold of it.

As of March 2019, The Simpsons exists under Disney, as the media giant purchased 21st Century Fox for an eye-popping $71.3 billion.