Bully 2 never happened due to 'bandwidth issues' according to Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser: 'You just can't do all the projects you want'

While long eclipsed in technology and ambition, 2006's Bully remains one of Rockstar's most distinctive games, and it's certainly the one I'd most like to see the studio take another stab at. Sadly Bully 2 was cancelled way back in 2009, and given how long it's taken Rockstar to make Grand Theft Auto 6, it seems unlikely that they'd spare any resources for a Bully sequel.

We do, however, have an explanation from Rockstar's cofounder as to why Bully 2 never saw the light of day. Speaking to IGN at LA Comic Con (via Eurogamer), Dan Houser explained that the project ended prematurely due to a lack of "bandwidth" among Rockstar management.

"I think it was just bandwidth issues, Houser told IGN. "You know, if you've got a small lead creative team and a small senior leadership crew, you just can't do all the projects you want."

It's a fairly broad explanation, but it falls roughly in line with previously stated reasons for Bully 2's. Back in 2021, former Rockstar New England employees explained that Bully 2 was in development for between one year and eighteen months before Rockstar's management canned the project.

At that time, Rockstar was working on Max Payne 3 and Red Dead Redemption alongside Bully 2, with many of Bully 2's developers moved over to the other two projects by the time of its cancellation. While the vision for the game—which among other things would have allowed players to enter every building in its world—was never realised, some of the tech designed for its prototype did make it into subsequent game. These include dynamically breaking glass and the ability for NPCs to remember player behaviours—the latter of which was seen in Red Dead Redemption 2.

While Houser departed Rockstar back in March 2020, he says that his new company, Absurd Ventures, has encountered similar challenges that led to Bully 2's cancellation. "How we're structured at Absurd, we're doing two projects with a fairly small team, and it's been really trying to think through that. How can we do that and keep them both moving?"

As for what those two projects are, it's not entirely clear. Absurd Ventures started out making American Caper and A Better Paradise, which Houser has previously described as "narrative worlds" designed to support different kinds of media. For American Caper, that means starting out with a graphic novel, the first issue of which is scheduled to release in November.

A Better Paradise, meanwhile, debuted with a 12 episode audio drama last year, though it seems to have received a mixed response. Houser has since released a novel based on the podcast.

More recently, though, the company revealed the Absurdaverse, its new setting for an "action-comedy adventure game" which is apparently currently in development. It all seems a bit scattershot and lacking in direction, and I wouldn't be surprised to see some of these projects fall by the wayside, much like Rockstar's ill-fated Bully sequel.

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