Rockstar’s free Bully giveaway only makes us wants a sequel more

As we eagerly anticipate the long-awaited release of GTA 6, Rockstar Games is giving us something to fill our time with, adding some extra benefits for GTA+. The introduction of Rockstar's own subscription service in 2022 has largely only benefitted GTA Online players... until now.

GTA+ has been criticised for a lacklustre catalogue, mainly focusing on older GTA games and the maligned GTA Trilogy. Rockstar is now expanding beyond the lineup of GTA games to add other Rockstar classics like Bully and L.A. Noire. In general, this is the start of a much bigger service. 

Bully is coming to GTA+

Following in the footsteps of Red Dead Redemption, GTA+ will be adding Bully and L.A. Noire later this year. Players will also be given GTA$1,000,000 every month between now and August. This is as well as the GTA$500,000 they already get. It's clear Rockstar is trying to funnel players toward GTA+.

Announcing the special occasion, Rockstar said, "We recently added Red Dead Redemption — with access to Undead Nightmare — to the stellar Games Included With GTA+ library, and Members can look forward to more Rockstar classics becoming available later this year, including L.A. Noire and Bully."

First released in 2006, Bully was a GTA-esque game where you played the delinquent Jimmy Hopkins. Following the release of the Bully: Scholarship Edition in 2008, there was an Android and iOS release in 2016. Still, it's a sometimes forgotten gem of the Rockstar storeroom. 

Give us Bully 2

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It's a double-edged sword, and reminding players why they loved Bully is surely going to reignite calls for a sequel. Bully turns 18 in 2024, and while there's been plenty of talk about a mythical sequel (or dreams of a Bully trilogy), there's been no sign of a return. 

Bully 2 was supposed to take us back to school for another term in 2009, but for whatever reason, it slipped into development hell. After the failures of the GTA Trilogy, remasters for GTA 4 and Red Dead Redemption were reportedly canned, alongside our hopes of revisiting Bully. 

The idea of returning to Bully has never gone away, and even recently, whispers of a mystery Rockstar VR game had some thinking it was a Bully remake or spin-off. Bully die-hards cling to the hope that it could emerge from the grave after GTA 6, but we've been burned too many times before.

GTA+ might not be your first port of call when trying to juggle our various subscription services, but with Rockstar finally breaking free from GTA's grip, some golden oldies are about to get the love and affection they rightly deserve. For now, though, school's still out for summer.