The Simpsons: Tapped Out stands as one of the most recognizable and nostalgic modern mobile games, originally releasing in 2012 and dominating the mobile city-builder genre for quite some time. The project is just another small piece of the huge tapestry of gaming media that has come directly from The Simpsons over the years, although this part of the IP's history is now sadly coming to an end.
It was recently announced that EA will be shutting down The Simpsons: Tapped Out in January 2025, meaning players are having to say goodbye to cities that they have spent over a decade building and perfecting. The news of Tapped Out's shutdown has already sent waves through the gaming industry, and despite the sadness surrounding the news, it does present The Simpsons with the perfect window to explore other options within the medium. While it may be difficult for The Simpsons to reach the same heights as it did in the past, the IP has a star-studded gaming history that could be revisited in the near future, at the very least.
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Tapped Out's Shut Down Will Hopefully Make Room For The Simpsons' Return to Gaming
The Simpsons: Tapped Out was a very successful and longstanding foray into the mobile genre for the franchise, being one of the first mainstream apps to lean heavily into the "freemium" gameplay loop that is so popular with more modern mobile experiences. As a city-building game, Tapped Out leaned heavily into the iconic locations and characters of Springfield, allowing players to build their own personalized version of the town over time.
This addictive pattern of gameplay clearly worked wonders, with Tapped Out having an estimated lifetime revenue in the hundreds of millions. While the app was extremely popular around the time of its release, over a decade has passed since then, and EA has made the difficult choice to shut down the app early next year. There is still a dedicated community of players despite this decision, with a petition to save Tapped Out already reaching close to 20,000 signatures.
If the decision to shelf Tapped Out does remain final, then hopefully The Simpsons can move elsewhere into the gaming industry as a brand. One obvious route that the franchise could take would be through remastering some of its most iconic past gaming entries, with the likes of The Simpsons: Hit and Run being a serious contender for this treatment.
Successful Remasters Could Give Way to New Simpsons Games Following Tapped Out's Shut Down
Hit and Run is considered one of the most recognizable games of the early 2000s, putting an unforgettable GTA-style spin on an open-world Simpsons title. The Simpsons: Hit and Run is one of the most highly demanded games for a remaster, and with over 20 years having passed since the game's release, now would be a perfect time to finally give fans something that has been desired for such a long time.
Other past titles could also be remastered to satisfy fans, with The Simpsons: Road Rage being an even older title that holds a special place in players' hearts. Remasters of both of these games seem like a sure-fire success for The Simpsons, and this could even give way to brand-new games in the future. The SpongeBob franchise went through a similar series of events recently, with remakes of beloved past titles like Battle For Bikini Bottom giving way to recent releases like A Patrick Star Game. It is a shame to see Tapped Out come to an end, but hopefully its shut down can give way to a new era of Simpsons games in the near future.
- Released
- February 29, 2012
- ESRB
- e
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- The Simpsons
WHERE TO PLAY
From the writers of The Simpsons, comes the city building game that lets you create your own living, breathing Springfield! When Homer accidently causes a meltdown that wipes out Springfield, it’s up to you to clean up his mess… we mean, help him rebuild it!
Collect Your Favorite Characters: Help reunite Homer with his loved ones - Marge, Lisa, Maggie (and even sometimes Bart) – as well as his not so loved ones, like Ned Flanders. Re-populate Springfield with your favorite characters, from Barflies (Barney Gumble) to Wise Guys (Fat Tony). Add them all, we won’t judge! Dress your characters to the nines with options like Daredevil Bart or Lizard Queen Lisa, and relive scenes from your favorite episodes of The Simpsons!
Take Charge of Your Springfield: Can’t control your own life? Now you can control the lives of the citizens of Springfield instead! Make Apu work ridiculously long shifts at the Kwik-E-Mart, have Moe smuggle illegal animals, or make Homer toil poolside all day… that last one might not be so bad.
Build Your Own Springfield: Think Homer deserves to live next door to Moe’s? Or the monorail can survive a few more sharp twists and turns? Well you can finally make Springfield just the way you want it! Expand your town to the Waterfront, grow its businesses with the glamourous shops of Springfield Heights, and enjoy its sights, all with only a few taps.
