It’s been over 14 years since the initial release of Bully, the school-based action-adventure from Rockstar Games. However, despite the title’s solid critical reception, the potential sequel, Bully 2, has apparently failed to gain traction at the studio.
There have always been rumors surrounding the development of Bully 2, and for many years it seemed certain that the game was being worked on. Even now, over a decade later and with no official word for seven years, many fans still hope that the game is in development. Why Rockstar pushed aside one of its most beloved titles for so long has always been a bit of mystery, but a new rumor may have shed some light.
It was back in 2009, a year after the release of the remastered Bully: The Scholarship Edition, that the first rumors of a Bully sequel appeared. Musician Shawn Lee, who had previously scored Bully, revealed in an interview that he’d soon be scoring the sequel as well. Two years later, in 2011, Rockstar Executive Dan Houser revealed that although Bully was popular at the studio, Rockstar had a policy against releasing sequels too soon after their originals.
He went on to suggest that Bully 2 would eventually become the focus of Rockstar Vancouver once again, but only after the release of Max Payne 3. A year later, Rockstar Vancouver was merged into Rockstar Toronto. Finally, in 2013, Dan House returned to say that he had many different ideas for a Bully sequel, in what was the last official comment on the series from Rockstar.
After 2013, there have only been rumors about the state of Bully 2. These rumors included leaked concept art in 2017, and a 2019 recorded conversation with a supposed Rockstar New England employee, who revealed that the game had been worked on for several months before Bully 2 was finally scrapped in 2010. This story was backed up by inside sources interviewed by Video Games Chronicle, who confirmed that Rockstar had worked on Bully 2 for 18 months. These sources also said that production began again in 2010, after the release of Red Dead Redemption, but was cancelled in 2013. The latest rumor, which came out only a few days ago, contradicts this timeline.
The new rumor first appeared on the GTA Forums, posted by credible Rockstar leaker Tez2. In the post, Tez2 suggested that the game may still have been in development as late as 2015. However, at the time it suffered from being developed alongside Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 5. Indeed, it’s very possible that the sequel to Rockstar’s smash-hit western adventure drew a lot of the studio’s resources, leeching them away from the Bully 2’s development. Similarly, Grand Theft Auto has always been Rockstar’s golden child, and any smaller title would have a hard time competing with it at the studio.
It seems that it was a similar overshadowing that finally spelled the end for the Bully sequel. According to the leaker, Bully 2 was canned in 2017, as the team working on it were moved onto the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6. Although this is the second time the game has been rumored to be cancelled, the idea that Rockstar would prefer to focus its resources on GTA and RDR is very believable.
Rockstar’s two biggest series’ both achieved critical acclaim with their latest offerings, giving the studio more than enough incentive to prioritize them. While it’s possible that work on Bully 2 could be handed off to one of the many smaller Rockstar studios, few of them have solo-developed a title before. All in all, it seems likely that this rumor is at least close to the truth, and Bully fans shouldn’t hold their breath about getting a sequel any time soon.
Grand Theft Auto 6 has yet to be announced but is rumored to be in development.
Source: VGC
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