Bully 2 Finally On Its Way?
The long-awaited Bully 2 is rumored to be in development post-Grand Theft Auto 6.
A Rockstar Games insider said that Bully 2, a sequel to the legendary Bully from 2006, might be on its way after Rockstar finally launches the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6. Bully is one of Rockstar’s most beloved gaming franchises, outside GTA and Red Dead Redemption, which allows you to commit the same amount of mayhem, albeit closer to the legal side of the law.
According to ComicBook.com, there have been numerous leaks regarding Bully 2, but the game’s development was sidelined in favor of more prominent, higher-grossing titles whose development required more manpower. However, if you release a great game, wait for 15 years, and let the nostalgia do its thing, you effectively get a high-grossing title, which is precisely what Rockstar might be doing with its IPs. And it’s not the lone practitioner of nostalgia-driven releases; Ubisoft is hitting a reset button on Assassin’s Creed, and Resident Evil remakes fare really well with the audiences.
The original Bully was a unique gaming title, as it put the players in a role of an angsty kid in a boarding school in which he fits as well as a cube through a circular slot. Players had to figure out how to survive, thrive, and wreak havoc in a school filled with various social and power dynamics. It was a refreshing title compared to Rockstar’s usual offerings, and it deserved a sequel, which was probably conceptualized at one point before GTA 5 launched and went on to become a multi-generational success among gamers.
It’s likely for a purported Bully 2 to be a smaller game, especially compared to open-world experiences offered by Rockstar’s profit drivers, the Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto. How vast can a boarding schoolyard get? Still, developing smaller games, like a Bully sequel, could actually benefit Rockstar, as it would fill in the gaps between releases, which have become increasingly bigger over the years.
The developer could actually implement several gaming systems it has developed over the years into its smaller titles, keeping their respective in-game worlds smaller and their development cycles shorter. This would require a bit more creativity and less manpower to develop, simultaneously giving different development teams a break from working on Grand Theft Auto or Red Dead Redemption all the time.
It’s hard to imagine the hardships of creative teams behind the aforementioned games; hardly doing anything else but sitting, thinking, and discussing new ideas for established titles sounds very tiring, especially if you spent the last couple of years doing the same. Developing a lightweight project, like Bully 2, would be akin to a workplace vacation. Of course, Rockstar could take the development in a totally different direction and offer players the chance to become the kingpins of high schools through juvenile delinquency, which would later escalate into the criminal behavior GTA is known for.
Of course, this is all speculation and should be treated as such. There’s still no official confirmation for whether Bully 2 is even in its concept phase, let alone in any other form of development. We’ll know more once GTA 6 drops — until then, may the coming years have mercy on us.
