Posted in: Games, Rockstar Games, Video Games | Tagged: bully, rockstar games

Bully 2 Was Apparently Canceled Years Ago According To Devs

A brand new report has uncovered a bit of the mangled history behind the Bully franchise and why we haven't seen a proper sequel. To say there are rumors upon rumors about this IP is an understatement, you could probably create a Wiki based on the entire history of rumors dating all the way back to 2007. It always feels like there's a sequel or a spinoff or a relaunch on the way and for whatever reason, it never clears the final hurdle of actually getting made. (If any of those rumors of it being made were ever real to begin with.) Well, as it turns out, at least one of them had substantial credibility now as former Rockstar New England employees have confirmed Bully 2 was in development and canned back in 2009.

A new article from Game Informer details the rise and fall of the original sequel that was going to be made, as it was going to be far more expansive than the original in every way possible. They go into details about how they created new mechanics for the game, including a new glass that would have been used for breaking into houses that were later repurposed for other games, such as Max Payne 3. But a combination of a work crunch schedule (which the company still does to this very day, even though they say they're trying to ease up on it) and the fact that they laid off 10% of the studio's staff in 2009 ended up being the death knell for the game. The article is a lengthy one that's well worth the read if you want to learn how chaotic it was over a decade ago trying to produce a title under the Rockstar banner. But it's also a lesson in seeing a company with multiple IPs trying to do the same thing over and over again and not being able to follow through.

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