Former Rockstar Boss Explains The Absence Of A Bully Sequel, Original’s Development Also Very Rocky

One of the biggest surprises came all the way back in 2020: Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser exited the Grand Theft Auto empire. The following year, Houser officially founded ‘Absurd Ventures’ with intent to deliver bespoke experiences in multiple mediums. In late 2023, it was revealed that two IPs are underway – ‘A Better Paradise’ & ‘American Caper’.

While Houser did depart from the team whilst Grand Theft Auto VI was still finding its form, he also left without shipping a proper sequel to Bully. Although the game is still a championed release – even being featured via GTA+ – it is nowhere close to a follow-up. In one report, it was disclosed that the game was in development at one point for a total of 18 months before falling apart.

According to Houser himself, plenty of the reasoning why is namely due to the size of the team and the scope that Rockstar Games was hoping for at the time which mainly dismantled the title altogether. Keep in mind, this was also amid work on other titles like Grand Theft Auto V & Max Payne 3 that stole a lot of focus. You can watch the segment of the interview in the video below:

“I think there was just bandwidth issues,” Houser answered on why the sequel never came to be. “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. And you know, with certainly how we’re structuring it, we’re trying to do two project with a fairly small team and just really trying to think through that. How can we do that and keep them both moving?”

Certainly, the drive for a Bully sequel was there internally, however, chances to appease the demand for another installment is different story in itself. Development on the original was shown to be very taxing as many developers were faced with large workloads and prolonged time in the office to deliver the game we know today. Speaking to Retro Gamer, former developer Andrew Wood expressed memories both fond and of disgust working on the game.

“It was brutal at times, especially near the end. We were working seven days a week, averaging 18-hour days,” Wood explains. “It just burned people out. We had a lot of turnover, but I decided to stay because I just knew the project was going to be something special,” the transcription from GamesRadar shares. “When we were pushing to release the game, we were revoked our lunch and our dinner breaks. They actually catered food into the office because they didn’t want us leaving! It started to feel like a prison for a lot of people.”

Wood added: “I love the game, and I love the fact that almost 20 years later, people are still cherishing it. […] The memories of it are love-hate. It was a fun, weird, hellish, chaotic, awesome time. I reflect back fondly on the people and the times and the crazy things we did after hours, but then I think about the stress.” So if a sequel were to ever be delivered, the cost would be a major expense both financially as well as in labor as it has been proven.

Are you surprised there is still no follow-up to Bully?