Simpsons: Hit & Run might be stuck in rights purgatory, but fans of the classic open-world game can dry their tears with a beautiful Futurama conversion mod

The Simpsons: Hit & Run might be stuck in limbo, but modders are keeping the beloved open-world game alive and well. A recent one even makes me want to shout 'Shut and up and take my money' since it's a full-blown conversion mod themed after another classic Matt Groening show: Futurama.

Modders Slurm Team recently released a launch trailer for Futurama: Hit & Run the demo, out today, and it is absolutely glorious. The theme tune's iconic bells bang over shots of Fry running, jumping and driving through New New York - the sewers, the rooftops, the streets... all of it looks like a really detailed rendition of the show. We even see the Professor waiting around to dish out a quest.

The Futurama mod's trailer kind of went viral and even caught the attention of Simpsons: Hit & Run's original designer Joe McGinn, who left a comment on YouTube: "As the lead designer of the original game, I can only say... this looks awesome! I want to play it."

You'll be able to download the Futurama: Hit & Run demo on Mod Bakery as long as you have the full game.

It should serve as a nice distraction from the fact that the actual Hit & Run is still stuck on OG Xbox and PS2. The game was published by Vivendi, which was then bought by Activision, which was then swallowed up whole by Microsoft, so the rights are kind of up in the air and it's not really clear who owns the publishing to Simpsons: Hit & Run specifically, even though Disney owns the wider series.

The Simpsons: Hit & Run dev says they could've made 3 sequels without paying a penny for the license: "Some crazy person at the publisher - we never found out who - said no"