Rockstar It has accustomed us to some really long development stages, be it with Red Dead Redemption 2 or the future GTA VI. The number of projects that the studio launches has been reduced compared to its glory days during the 2000s. It was in those times that Bully arrived to turn us into true hooligans.
Or also known as Canis Canem Edit In its original versions for PS2, the truth is that controlling Jimmy Hopkins at Bullworth School was really fun. Being a bully, getting into mischief, going to class, and discovering tons of secrets made it an instant classic, but that was 16 years ago now.
irreverence to power
In 2006 we first saw the experiment led by Rockstar Vancouver, which received a later adaptation with improvements for Xbox 360 and Wii. As always, the work breathed that irreverent spirit of the company, always transgressing, creating satire and breaking any limit.
Going to classes had its rewards, like learning how to make firecrackers or stink bombs, having more social skills or unlocking new fighting keys. The corridors and surroundings of Bullworth were populated by urban tribes such as the nerds, the pimps or the musclemen, as well as the posh. All of them in continuous confrontation, but with a tense calm due to the monitors and professors who swarmed the stage.
In Bully we could be an advantaged version of Bart Simpson, always with a slingshot, a bag of marbles or any possible tool that was used to cause evil. Also, Jimmy could be customized with tons of clothes and exploring the open world was a joy. Skateboard, bike, scooter or even a kart were some of the vehicles that we could take.
Beyond the school gates, a city full of activities awaited us such as arcade machines, the fair, races and much more. In short, a title that showed its own personality that gave us a good margin to configure Jimmy’s life.
The sequel that never came
Obviously, the criticism came, but not regarding the quality of the game. Different associations highlighted the violence shown in title, especially controlling a 14-year-old boy, which could be exercised against his peers. something more than 1.5 million copies distributed it seemed that they could not be enough for a sequel, but Rockstar pointed out that the option was on the table.
In 2008, the original composer, Shawn Lee, stated that it is most likely that “I will be doing the soundtrack for Bully 2 in the not too distant future”. However, time passed and the news about the development was conspicuous by its absence. Dan Houser, the former mastermind of GTAassured that after Max Payne 3 they could focus on the sequel, although that statement was in 2011.
Red Dead Redemption had come out the year before and efforts were mostly focused on GTA V for 2013. It was precisely that year when Dan Houser again referred to a new Bully game, noting that he had many ideas. Officially none of them materialized, but the light appeared in 2019.
The SWEGTA youtuber contacted a former Rockstar New England employee, who was able to confirm that the developer worked on the sequel to Bully, but ten years ago. The project was running for a few months until it was cancelled, which was later confirmed. In 2013 the production was shelved, although they leaked various concept arts.
In them, it can be seen that Jimmy would come home for summer vacation, being able to explore an entire neighborhood. A working version of Bully 2 was created through the RAGE graphics engine, but it all went to hell because it didn’t arouse enough internal interest to continue.
Since then, information about the work has never been leaked again and it seems that any hope of seeing it on our screens has been buried. Rockstar is immersed in the sixth installment of its biggest franchise and each of its developments have a huge budget and creation time. There is no room for smaller titles, at least in the short and medium term.
