Rockstar Games is certainly one of the best when it comes to designing open-world games. While always best known for its work on Grand Theft Auto, long-time fans have a lot of fond memories of its more experimental titles like Bully. Considering a Bully 2 or some kind of sequel has been rumored for a long time, many have lost faith in a new entry in the series.
The critical and commercial success of Bully called for a Bully 2, but rumors seem to indicate that the project was in development at some point in time. The last official mention of Bully 2 comes from Dan Houser himself, who revealed his seemingly uncertain plans with the series in an interview with GameSpot in September 2013.
The (Rumored) History Of Bully 2
Bully 2 might just be one of the studio's heavily rumored titles, sitting right next to the still unconfirmed Grand Theft Auto 6. Rumors seemed to indicate that work began on Bully 2 shortly after the release of the original game, with lead writer Dan Houser having a script ready as early as 2008. After what could be termed as "development hell" across multiple Rockstar studios, Bully 2 was ultimately kept on hold as Red Dead Redemption required more resources and manpower prior to release.
Rockstar Vancouver — the developers of the original Bully — assisted in shipping Max Payne 3, which released to great reviews in 2012 and was ultimately merged into Rockstar Toronto. Rumors resurfaced again during the aforementioned interview with Dan Houser, but the language at play doesn't seem to suggest anything substantial is up the developer's alley.
Workings of the internal studios within Rockstar Games have changed dramatically over the years, as huge open-world games such as Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 require incredible amounts of resources. This gives individuals in smaller studios not a lot of leeway to pursue other projects, which is what reportedly led to the re-cancellation of Bully 2 as late as 2015.
Bully 2 Might Not Return Anytime Soon
There's always an exciting possibility that Bully 2 would be returning any time now, but the current status of Rockstar Games would seem to suggest otherwise. It's been more than a decade since Bully first released, so it isn't hard to assume that the franchise has lost much of its mainstream popularity over the years. Rockstar Games, much like most big-name developers, has grown incredibly risk-averse.
Pursuing projects at such a scale is a daunting venture, which leaves little wiggle-room for risk and experimentation. That being said, Rockstar Games has been doing some Bully fan service over the past year; including Bullworth Academy merchandise, as well as easter eggs in Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Redemption 2.
While nothing has been officially confirmed, Rockstar Games is most likely hard at work at developing Grand Theft Auto 6. Rumors seem to indicate releases in the ballpark of 2025 or beyond, so fans expecting to see a reveal anytime soon should keep expectations in check. There's definitely some money to be made if Rockstar tries to bring back its lost franchises, but fans shouldn't bank too much on the possibility for now.
Bully 2 is rumored to be in development for unconfirmed platforms.