The Long-Awaited Sequel: Fan Creativity Bridges the Gap for a Beloved Rockstar Classic

With official news on a sequel to Rockstar Games’ 2006 cult classic, Bully (Canis Canem Edit), remaining elusive—a sequel recently confirmed by co-founder Dan Houser to have been shelved due to “bandwidth issues”—the community has taken the initiative. A dedicated team of modders, spearheaded by content creator SWEGTA, has officially unveiled ‘Bully Online,’ a comprehensive, fan-made multiplayer mod for the PC version of Bully: Scholarship Edition. This ambitious project aims to transform the single-player experience into a robust online sandbox, heavily inspired by the lucrative and immensely popular GTA Online model.

The announcement has sent a ripple of excitement through the community, promising a new lease on life for the Bullworth Academy campus. This is not a simple co-op patch; it is an endeavor to create a fully persistent online world where players can engage in role-playing, competitive mini-games, and a full economic loop.

Core Features: From Free Roam Mischief to High-Stakes Rat Wars

Bully Online is designed to be a dynamic multiplayer experience, combining the core elements of the original game’s open world with new, engaging online systems. The mod’s feature set is remarkably ambitious, reflecting years of dedicated development utilizing the DSL script loader to achieve what was previously considered technically impossible within the game’s engine.

• Comprehensive Free Roam: Players can explore the entirety of Bullworth Academy and its surrounding town with friends, fostering a communal environment for social engagement and casual mischief.
• Role-Playing Focus: A fully fleshed-out inventory system has been implemented, allowing players to earn in-game currency through various side objectives, mini-games, and item trading. This cash can then be spent on high-value purchases like personal housing, unique weapons (slingshots, stink bombs), custom vehicles, and essential in-game items.
• Competitive Mini-Games: The mod will introduce instanced mini-games to prevent griefing in the main server. These include custom racing modes with new vehicles and, most bizarrely, a first-person shooter called “Rat Wars,” where players control oversized, gun-wielding cartoon rats. This innovation allows the developers to introduce more extreme gameplay elements while maintaining the main server’s appropriate Bully aesthetic.
• Customization and Economy: The ability to purchase property and vehicles, complete with unique car keys for locking them against theft, adds a compelling layer of persistence and economic depth to the online experience, mirroring modern open-world online RPGs.

The developer, SWEGTA, emphasizes that the project is built on their own unique vision, repurposing many unreleased ideas from previous, dormant fan attempts at a Bully multiplayer mode.

Early Access and Commercial Risk: The Price of Dedication

The launch strategy for Bully Online involves an initial paid Early Access period. Starting in December 2025, the mod’s official servers will be made available to those who choose to support the development team on Ko-Fi for a monthly fee. Supporters receive several in-game and community perks:

• Early access to the mod.
• Priority access in server queues.
• Exclusive behind-the-scenes content (developer commentary, videos).
• A unique blue in-game nametag and an in-game digital camera.

While this financial model helps sustain the costly and time-intensive development, it immediately raises a critical legal and community concern. The history of Rockstar Games and its parent company, Take-Two Interactive, is fraught with legal action against ambitious fan-made projects, particularly those that involve monetization, such as the now-defunct Liberty City Preservation Project. The combination of using a copyrighted IP and soliciting funds creates a considerable risk of a Cease and Desist (C&D) order, threatening the project’s future before its planned public release.

SEO and CPC Impact: A Resurgence in Classic Gaming Searches

The high-profile nature of this announcement is driving a significant spike in searches for high CPC keywords. Terms like “Bully 2 news”, “Bully Online multiplayer mod”, and “Rockstar classic games” are experiencing a resurgence. This event underscores a key trend in the video game market: when official support for a beloved title wanes, fan projects fill the vacuum, generating massive organic buzz and demonstrating an enduring, viable market for the IP. For advertisers targeting the nostalgic and dedicated PC gaming segment, the Bully Online news is a major traffic driver.

If the mod can successfully navigate the legal landscape and achieve a stable public launch in 2026—the 20th anniversary of the original game—it could cement Bully as another timeless classic whose lifespan is indefinitely extended by fan dedication, much like its elder sibling, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

The ultimate fate of Bully Online rests on a delicate balance: the mod team’s ability to deliver a polished experience and the corporate stance of Rockstar Games on a highly visible, monetized fan project.

(Source: Reports from Eurogamer.net, IGN, GameSpot, and the SWEGTA YouTube Channel, October 2025)