Amidst all the hype surrounding Rockstar Games’ upcoming blockbuster release in the Grand Theft Auto franchise, a surprise popped up and it concerns the Bully franchise. The successor to 2006’s Bully was apparently in the pipeline, and someone found it nesting in the codes of GTA 5. This may have gotten everyone’s attention, considering that Bully is a cult classic and we all wonder whether the creative chaps at Rockstar Games are planning its successor. After all, this game deserves a successor created with modern tools in today’s times, even if its concept may not be politically correct.
The Bully franchise came up in the mid-2000s when Rockstar Games was at its peak, delivering blockbuster titles one after the other. Released just two years after Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Bully wanted to capture the imagination of its young audience by giving them a virtual world where bullying is the only way forward. With a concept so tantalising, it was no surprise that it managed to move over 15 million copies worldwide.
Hence, gamers around the world have wanted a sequel and based on the recent leaks, it seems that the news is not good. Bully 2 may not be happening in the future.
‘Bully 2’ PC game leaks: What do we know about it
The recent discussion surrounding Bully 2 comes from the hidden references found in GTA 5’s codes. A developer recently found lines of codes in Grand Theft Auto 5 that mention some of Rockstar Games’ big projects over the years such as GTA 4, Midnight Club Los Angeles and Red Dead Redemption 2. One of those lines explicitly mentions the phrase ‘Bully 2’.
Although no other reference or description was found accompanying this line of code, it seems that Bully 2 was indeed a project under development at some point in time. Based on several media reports, development on Bully 2 started in the early 2010s, just after Rockstar Games’ England arm was done working on Red Dead Redemption. In fact, the studio drew out the concept and even developed a basic playable version built on the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE), the same game engine that forms the base for GTA 4 and GTA 5.
However, after 18 months of sedate development, interest in Bully 2 fizzled out and the studio moved its resources to other projects, a VGC report claimed. The studio hasn’t considered working on the project since then and Bully 2 remains one of the many discontinued projects from the makers of Grand Theft Auto.
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What about ‘Bully 2’ gameplay and story?
The script for Bully 2 was drawn back in 2008 by Rockstar Games Co-Founder Dan Houser, who wanted to continue from where the first game left. Bully’s protagonist Jimmy was supposed to return and in his shoes, an expansive open world was supposed to be explored from the POV of a 15-year-old. Based on the RAGE game engine, Bully 2 could have featured the same kind of graphics as Grand Theft Auto 5 and Max Payne 3.
Will ‘Bully 2’ ever see a release date?
As of now, it seems unlikely that Rockstar Games has intentions to bring Bully 2 to fruition. The studio’s current priority seems to be on Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) and its online version, both of which could be the next big money-minting projects for the studio in the years to come.
That said, we aren’t giving up hopes for the much-awaited successor to a cult classic. Rockstar Games did give us brilliant sequels to Red Dead Redemption and the original Max Payne. It even did a remastered edition of Mafia 1 and more recently, remastered editions of the GTA Trilogy. Hence, even though work on Bully 2 was abandoned, there’s a scope for Rockstar Games to reassign resources to the project and develop a new storyline from scratch.
(Hero and Featured Image Credits: Courtesy Rockstar Games)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– When is Bully 2 releasing?
Bully 2 was cancelled while in development and hence, it doesn’t have a planned release date.
– What will be the PC requirements for Bully 2?
Bully 2 isn’t planned for a release and hence, we don’t know anything about its PC requirements.
