Fans have long lamented the lack of a sequel to the hit action-adventure game Bully, and Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser has finally explained why Bully 2 never happened. The original Bully launched in 2006 and was met with favorable reviews from both critics and audiences alike, and the reason for the beloved title's lack of a predecessor falls to an unfortunately common trend in gaming.
While the popularity of Bully has spawned a number of spiritual successor video games, players had been hoping for years to see Rockstar pull the tongue-in-cheek rebellious schoolboy IP out of the filing cabinets for a big sequel. Sadly, it would seem Bully 2 never made it past an early playable dev version, and one of the game's original creators has finally explained why.
Why Didn't Rockstar Make Bully 2?
Speaking with IGN at Los Angeles Comic Con 2025, Dan Houser discussed his past projects with Rockstar Games, prompting a question about the rumored Bully sequel that never came to be. When asked why Bully 2 never happened, Houser stated that there was simply not enough time or resources for Rockstar to take on another big project at the time. Instead, the studio ended up focusing its efforts on games like L.A. Noir, Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne 3, and Grand Theft Auto 5. Following those projects, Rockstar wanted to prioritize developing single large projects at any given time, making the possibility of simultaneously developing sequels for multiple IPs unlikely. Houser ultimately places the lack of Bully 2 on "bandwidth issues," which came in the form of "a small lead creative team and a small leadership crew" that could only accomplish so much with the resources available.
Despite Bully 2 never making it past early stages of development, the sequel games from Rockstar that did end up releasing, namely Red Dead Redemption 2, have more than proven their worth in the long run. There is an argument to be made that there is a slight chance of Rockstar possibly one day coming back to the Bully franchise, but with Grand Theft Auto 6 already holding the spotlight for the studio's future, audiences are probably better off not holding their breath for Bully 2.
Gaming fans have often mourned the countless sequels that never came to fruition, and studios have more often than not attributed these shelved projects to limited time and finances. With Dan Houser and other creatives behind the original Bully now long gone from Rockstar Games, only time will tell if the studio ever wants to dust off the hit classic and give it an eventual revival or if it will stay stuck in detention in the archives.
- Released
- October 17, 2006
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Crude Humor, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar Vancouver
- Publisher(s)
- Rockstar Games
- Engine
- RenderWare, Gamebryo
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox
