‘Bully 2’ was not the $53 million project that Take-Two reportedly canceled

The development of "Bully 2" has been rumored for some time now. And when Take-Two Interactive confirmed that it had canceled a project that so far cost $53 million, there were speculations that it may have been the long-awaited sequel to the 2006 action-adventure title.

Take-Two published the earnings report for the second quarter of the fiscal year 2022, which ended on Sept. 30. The video game publisher confirmed that it canceled a high-budget project but not before allocating $53 million funds to it. "Cost of goods sold included a $53 million impairment charge related to the Company's decision not to proceed with further development of an unannounced title in its pipeline," the report reads.

The company did not specify in the financial report which project was canceled. And the questions have allowed for speculations to spread online that the canceled project may have been "Bully 2."

However, the official announcement was immediately followed by reports citing Hangar 13 President Haden Blackman's email to employees about their project codenamed "Volt" getting canceled. The email also heavily implies that Volt was the game development that Take-Two funded with $53 million before its cancellation. Journalist Jason Schreier, who also reported on Blackman's email on Bloomberg, has also told a Twitter user that "Volt" was not "Bully 2."

"While the Hangar 13 name and Volt's working title are not being shared publicly, T2 is announcing today that 2K had made the difficult decision to stop developing on the project," Blackman's email reads via Kotaku. The Hangar 13 exec also wrote that the studio will "begin developing future projects soon."

While the canceled $53 million development was not "Bully 2," it does not necessarily mean the sequel remains in the pipeline. Reliable leaker Tez2 reported in late 2020 that the sequel's development had already been canceled back in 2017. Its development's cancellation was not entirely bad news, though. Tez2 added that "Bully 2" was shelved so that Rockstar Games can focus on making the much-awaited "GTA 6."

Just like "Bully 2," though, Rockstar has been quiet about its plans for "GTA 6." Tez2's previous report also claimed that the latter has been in the works as early as 2015, but it is still not included in the shortlist of games Rockstar has confirmed. The studio will release the remastered version of "GTA: The Trilogy" this month, while the expanded and enhanced edition of "GTA V" will follow in early 2022.