A popular game’s player-made group modification for the well-known title by Rockstar Games, Bully, was called ‘Bully Online’, but it was canceled after just a month of selling. The gaming news social media account that made the announcement caused a lot of speculations and discussions among the gamers. The ending of Bully Online is a sign of the continual confrontations between the legal rights of the big video game makers, such as Rockstar Games, and the daring fan projects.
Thus, the first thing that people said was that they were unable to believe that what even was Bully Online? That was the first inquiry everyone was asking. With the very mixed answers and some digging, it turned out that it was nothing to do with Rockstar’s hand. Not a chance! This was an unauthorized mod that permitted multiplayer in the original computer version of Bully. It was like the old GTA Online, which was practically a bunch of people doing nothing and going everywhere in the world together. Someone, perhaps a group, came up with the idea of doing it for the halls of Bullworth Academy. It must have been a blast, right? Supposedly, the game was released and then disappeared after a month. Just like that, poof!
The response of the gamers was nothing short of a state of confusion. The majority of the replies were just people wondering if it was ‘Is it possible that this ever existed?'” ‘Was Bully Online?’ ‘I didn’t understand that, I hope I won’t!’ Ironical situation, really. The whole thing was up and down, and a great part of the player base was totally unaware that it even took place. One of the gamers, Captain Haruno, expressed it perfectly: ‘There was a Bully Online service? Wtf, this is the first I even hear of it.’ Same here, dude. Same here.
For those who did know about it, the reason for the shutdown was quite obviously the temporary key issue according to the mentions of the shutdown. The main reason? Money. User TRIPLE_06_ rightly pointed out: ‘Early access was behind a paywall meaning they were profiting of an IP they DO NOT OWN!’ Yeesh! That’s a big ‘no’ sign for any fan project. The moment you start charging for something on that is based on that game, you are basically inviting corporate lawyers to come and bite you. ZoneTanx confirmed this and added that the paywall was ‘bound to get players angry, as well as bring the attention of rockstar.’ It was like they wanted to be seen, but not in a good way.
Some people were so skeptical that they thought it was a possibility for them to lose money. The user doctorevil2023 asked: ‘Was money scammed? No refunds?’ Ouch!That’s the worst image possible if what is being reported is true. Billing for easy entry to a modification and then shutting it down a month later? Not a great formula for satisfied customers. It only adds to the dark appeal of the whole project.
And since it is the internet, the jokes came flooding. The game about bullies was… bullied into shutting down. Notfunnyshreya and priv8_code both made that joke, and you have to admit it’s a bit funny in a twisted way. Darkobsidion3 shared laughing emojis with the caption ‘The game got bullied into oblivion.’ It’s the fate that one can call perfect and ironic at the same time for a game named Bully.
The whole event does change the narrative, though. The death of this strange internet mod has resulted in people going back to what they really want from Rockstar. And it’s definitely not a buggy multiplayer mod. SahayArya pleaded, ‘Please add achievements instead of adding online … if you could do that with Bully, and Max Payne 1/2 on Steam that would be awesome.’ That’s such a vibe! Just give us classic PC support forever! And then, of course, the always cry: ‘Give us Bully 2.’ Boy1337Corky said it, and you can be sure a million other gamers are thinking it, especially in light of the GTA remastered trilogy’s debacle. They don’t want a hasty remaster; they want a full sequel.
So, what is the moral of this bizarre, month-long saga? It shows the players’ still-being-eager-for-Bully-universe that they are even considering trying a controversial user-created online version. But it also advises the mod makers by telling them a common story. Making something awesome for a game that everyone loves is one thing, but turning it into a business and making money with a copyright owner’s intellectual property is just one way to get your project scuttled. The community wish is clear but the channel was not the proper one. In the end, the shutdown of Bully Online just highlights that the only way to get a proper online experience is through official channels on platforms like PlayStation and Xbox.
