The Simpsons video games

From the arcade cabinet where you punched your way to saving Maggie to the mobile city builder switched off after thirteen years, Springfield has fed more than twenty-five video games.

A story of cult masterpieces, of licenses passing from hand to hand, and of a phantom remaster fans keep demanding. Here is the guide.

Three decades of Simpsons games

Since 1991, the family from Springfield has inspired more than 25 video games, spread across three broad eras: the 1990s licenses (a volley of often mediocre "Bart" games), the golden age of the 2000s (Road Rage, Hit & Run, The Simpsons Game), then the mobile era dominated by Tapped Out.

🎮 A controller for Road Rage and the golden age of the 2000s, a phone for the mobile era: our Simpsons stickers stick just as well on your console as on your phone case.

The beginnings: Bart and the arcade cabinet

The very first licensed game is "Bart vs. the Space Mutants" (on the NES, early 1991), as cult as it is notoriously hard. It is closely followed by Konami's arcade cabinet (March 1991), a four-player beat 'em up in which Bart and his family punch their way to recovering a diamond swallowed by Maggie — an arcade classic.

🪙 Before you could punch your way to the diamond swallowed by Maggie, you had to slide a coin into Konami's cabinet at every "INSERT COIN": our Simpsons wallets keep your change close at hand, along with your bills and cards.

Hit & Run, the cult masterpiece

The franchise's high point remains "The Simpsons: Hit & Run" (2003), an open-world game parodying GTA — nicknamed "GTA for kids". Sold in roughly three million copies and regularly named the best Simpsons game, it has become so cult that fans have been demanding a remaster for years — with none, to this day, officially announced.

From The Simpsons Game to Tapped Out

In 2007, "The Simpsons Game" closes out the era of the big console games with a delicious meta humor (the family knows it is trapped inside a video game). Then the franchise moves to mobile: "The Simpsons: Tapped Out" (2012), a highly lucrative free city builder, had millions of players rebuilding Springfield… before shutting down its servers for good in early 2025, after thirteen years of service.

🧱 Tapped Out shut down its servers after thirteen years of getting players to rebuild Springfield; what you build with our Simpsons building bricks, on the other hand, stays standing on your shelf, connection or not.

Summary table

FAQ

• What is the first Simpsons video game?
  "Bart vs. the Space Mutants" (NES, early 1991), followed shortly after by Konami's arcade cabinet.
• What is the best Simpsons game?
  "The Simpsons: Hit & Run" (2003) is almost unanimous: an open world parodying GTA, sold in roughly 3 million copies.
• Is a Hit & Run remaster planned?
  None has been officially announced to date: there are only rumors and fan projects.
• Can you still play Tapped Out?
  No: the mobile game shut down its servers in early 2025, after thirteen years in operation.

Conclusion

From the arcade beat 'em up to the mobile city builder, the Simpsons video games form a gaming saga in their own right. And if only one title were to survive, it would be Hit & Run — the masterpiece Springfield is still waiting to see again.