While Rockstar games may be mostly known for itsGrand Theft AutoandRed Dead Redemptionseries, many gamers have fond memories of the studios' other titles such asMidnight Cluband a genuinely unique spin-off open-world in the form ofBully.
For the uninitiated,Bullyis an open-world game set in Bullworth Academy where players take control of a mischievous kid, Jimmy Hopkins, in his adventures.Bullyhad Rockstar’s signature charm of a satirical take on the subject matter, which meant that fans of theGrand Theft Autoseries felt distinctly at home, all while seeing an open-world game in an entirely new light.
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Success Of Bully Inevitably Called For A Bully 2
Bullyreleased for the PlayStation 2 in October of 2006. The game also received a remastered port in 2008 for the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, and PC. Both of these releases were well-received by the community and critics alike; however,Bullyhad been the subject of many heated debatesregarding the depiction of bullying.
That didn’t stop the game from becoming a sales success. While no exact grand total is known, the PS2 release itself sold more than 1.5 million copies. Steam has also sold more than a million copies of the game alone, and many fans believe that the total sales were over 6 million as of 2019. These sales figures might not have been on par with the studio’s other heavy-hitters such asGrand Theft Auto 4, but it had likely made the studio content to invest further in the franchise.
Soon, after the game had been re-released in 2008, rumors started circulating about the release of the next game. The original composer ofBully, Shawn Lee, had stated in an interview that he would be working on the sequel very soon. After a brief period of silence, Rockstar’s executiveDan Houser had commented on the possibility ofBully 2not coming out too soon as the studio is against releasing sequels quickly.
Bully 2 Reportedly Underwent Development Hell
In the same interview when Dan Houser talked about the future release ofBully 2, he also said that the responsibilities for developing the game moved over to Rockstar Vancouver, but it would only continue after the release ofMax Payne 3, which came out in 2012. Following the release, the studio was merged with Rockstar Toronto, the studio behindGrand Theft Auto 5.
With these studios merged into one, seemingly fordeliveringRed Dead Redemption 2,Bully 2would remain in silence as only rumors were heard afterGrand Theft Auto 5’s release. While nothing can be said definitively, many fans believe that the game hadn’t begun much production and was canned as early as 2010.
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The voice actor forBully’s protagonist Gerry Rosenthal was interviewedlast year about the matter, to which he said that he hadn’t yet been contacted by Rockstar Games to do the voice work for a sequel. It could’ve been that the artist was under an NDA(Non-Disclosure-Agreement), but this was quickly debunked as he denied such a thing. However, a possibility remains that the next game wouldn’t in fact feature the protagonist of the first game, remaining a mystery to this day.
There have been multiple reports that the project was canned sometime around 2010 after the team had spent almost 18 months working on the game. Many industry insiders also supported this story during their various interviews of the years, while some sources also stated that the game started production again in 2010, after the release ofRed Dead Redemption, and the project was ultimately canned around 2015. It is believed that the game had to be canceled asRed Dead Redemption 2and the nextGrand Theft Autorequired more resources than ever. Since then, the biggest leaks and rumors have been the release of some confirmed to be fake screenshots of the game along with someEaster eggs found inGrand Theft Auto OnlineandRed Dead Redemption 2, which could point to a sequel. History says otherwise, though.
Will Bully 2 Ever See The Light Of Day?
Most signs point to an overall slim chance thatBully 2will ever see the light of day. Rockstar’s current portfolio looks to be developing thenext entry in theGrand Theft Autofranchise,Grand Theft Auto 6. While there isn’t much information known about its release window, it seems that Rockstar is trying to mitigate its crunch culture now. Many fans have taken all the rumors regardingGrand Theft Auto 6into account and are expecting that the game wouldn’t hit shelves until 2025, or possibly even later.
However, there is still some chance that Rockstar Games is trying to keep theBullyfranchise relevant. Recently, the studio’s merchandise named R* Warehouse released a set of Bullworth caps. Many fans are speculating thatRockstar Games could eventually tease a second Bully game, but nothing can be said definitively right now.
Bullyis available now on Android, iOS, PC, PS2, and Xbox 360.
