Fifteen years after the release of Bully, Rockstar still hasn’t given any sign of its sequel, Bully 2. And for fifteen years, fans have been wondering about the continuation of the franchise. Luckily, Game Informer has managed to dig out some valuable info directly from several former Rockstar developers regarding the Bully 2 project.

Bully 2 is currently canned. In other words, the Bully 2 project is still far from finished and is still being on hold by Rockstar, in the hope that it will be continued and released in the future. Back in 2009, Rockstar New England was assigned by Rockstar to lead the development of Bully 2. This project was then shelved in 2010, and the developers at Rockstar New England were assigned to help develop Max Payne 3, Red Dead Redemption, and two GTA IV DLCs.

Game Design & Game Mechanics

Based on Game Informer’s reports obtained from the former developers, Bully 2 seems to have promising game design & mechanics. Not to mention that this game was developed in the era of the seventh generation of gaming consoles, targeted to be released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

One of the elements that make the game sound so promising is the Honor System reminiscent of the one in the Red Dead Redemption series, where every action that Jimmy Hopkins takes has an impact on his honor. When he does an honorable action, his honor will be increased, and vice versa. But that’s not all, the NPCs in Bully 2 would also be able to remember Jimmy’s actions. It does sound similar to the NPC memory system in Red Dead Redemption 2.

The progression is also one of the aspects that Bully 2 focuses heavily on. Jimmy would constantly interact with the NPCs. He could befriend them, or become enemies, depending on the actions made by Jimmy. The grass in this universe grows and the player could mow it according to the patterns they prefer.

The developers at Rockstar New England have also developed mechanics for tree climbing Aside from that, Jimmy could also climb over fences, roofs, and anything else to support him doing his shenanigans. The player would be able to enter every building, be it by normal means or by force.

Most parts of the map have already been completed, and the NPCs were already able to do their day-to-day tasks. The size of the map itself is claimed to be as vast as the size of GTA Vice City, or about three times bigger than Bully.

According to these developers, Bully 2 was already playable for a 68-hour run. However, Bully 2 was still not ready for a release and it would take two or three more years to be completed.

Unfortunately, those two or three years for completing Bully 2 have turned into more than a decade. In 2010, the developers at Rockstar New England began to be pulled from developing Bully 2 and switched focus to help develop other games like Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3. So, to this day, Rockstar New England only had the opportunity to develop the remastered version, Bully Scholarship Edition, which was released in 2008.