Gamers everywhere have been convinced that Rockstar has been secretly working on Bully 2 since... well, probably since not long after the original game released, way back in 2006.
For over a decade, fans have gobbled up every leak, Easter egg, or comment from someone claiming to be related to a developer at Rockstar suggesting that a return to Bullworth Academy is on the cards. Alas, one has yet to materialise.
It's not hard to see why people get so passionate about Bully 2. The original game really struck a chord with a generation of gamers, and the longer we go without hearing any official word on a sequel from Rockstar - a company who are notoriously tight-lipped - the more we seem to be willing to believe every far-fetched rumour 4Chan throws our way. We just want to believe, dammit.
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As it turns out, there might actually at one point have been a kernel of truth to the rumours that Rockstar was working on Bully 2, because they in fact were. The bad news is that they ultimately decided to stop working on it.
According to a new report from VGC, a sequel was in development a few years back, and a small part of the game was even playable. Unfortunately, it sounds like development went nowhere and it was ultimately shelved. This revelation comes from multiple "well-placed" sources familiar with the goings-on of the time at Rockstar.
These same sources told VGC that Rockstar Founder Dan Houser wrote a script for Bully 2 back in 2008 along with some of his "most trusted developers." The game reportedly would have once again starred Jimmy, the hero of the first game, and would likely have depicted the character's college years, something that the most recent Bully 2 rumours also claimed.
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Between May 2010 and the end of 2013, according to the report, Rockstar New England put together a "very small slice" of Bully 2 using the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE), the same engine that was used for GTA IV, GTA V, and both Red Dead Redemption games.
The small demo apparently featured "simplistic" open-world gameplay, but despite making some headway, one of the sources told VG247 that development ultimately fizzled out and the team were moved onto other products. "It existed, it was playable, it was just a shame it never got off the ground," the source said.
It is worth mentioning that just because Rockstar canned Bully 2 at one point doesn't mean the developer hasn't already returned to it, or plans to return to it somewhere down the line.
While we still have no idea what the current status of the sequel is, we have to hold out that the continuing parade of Bully 2 rumours have some truth to them.
Featured Image Credit: RockstarTopics: Rockstar