This wildly ambitious Bully mod adds online multiplayer, racing minigames and even a rat-based deathmatch, but the modders' demand for lunch money has fans worried about Rockstar's response

While Bully 2 remains a dream for Rockstar fans everywhere, the chances of it happening are unlikely. Former Rockstar cofounder Dan Houser recently explained that the project was killed due to "bandwidth issues" within Rockstar management, and the chances of a modern revival are slim given how long it's taken the studio to make Grand Theft Auto 6. But Rockstar's original schoolyard simulator is about to receive a new lease of life. Thanks to a team of modders, Bully is getting an online mode, the enthusiast equivalent of what GTA Online is to GTA 5.

If you think that comparison is overblown, well, it probably is, given the years and countless dollars Rockstar has pumped into its multiplayer version of Los Santos. Nonetheless, Bully Online is still far more involved than I expected. Not only does the mod open up the town of Bullworth for persistent multiplayer shenanigans, but it also adds numerous supplementary systems to Rockstar's virtual playground. These include a roleplaying system, player-based inventory, and a trading system that lets you earn money and spend it on houses, weapons, vehicles etc.

The mod also introduces several minigames to Bully, some of which are pretty wild. By far the weirdest is Rat Wars, which sideloads multiplayer deathmatch into Bully's nonlethal experience by framing it entirely around the game's rodent population, transporting players to a pocket dimension where they assume control of rats and blast each other with pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles etc. Another new minigame is racing, which, while more conventional than Rat Wars, does let players create custom vehicles out of shopping trolleys, go-karts, wrecked cars, and more.

The project is led by YouTuber and Bully fanatic Swegta, and was built using the DSL script-loader plug-in. "A lot of the things that we thought were impossible just a few years ago can now be done, including making an online mode," Swegta explains in a video revealing Bully Online.

The team has a server for Bully Online in place, and from December, will open it up to people who subscribe to the mod's Ko-Fi page. Eventually, the team plans to open the server up to everyone, though subscribing provides other benefits like developer updates, custom name-tag colours, and priority access when the server is full.

The fact that the mod is initially available via subscription has led to some qualms about a potential legal response from Rockstar, given how the company has nuked certain mods in the past. Since the announcement of Bully Online, Swegta has tried to reassure fans by explaining the mod "requires a legal copy of the game to play" and "does not redistribute any game files", among other things. I guess we'll find out how Rockstar feels soon enough.