A group of passionate modders is about to give new life to one of Rockstar Games’ most beloved titles. Bully, the boarding school game that won over players in 2006, is about to transform into an online multiplayer experience comparable to Grand Theft Auto Online. The project, called Bully Online, represents years of secret work by a team coordinated by the famous YouTuber and modder SWEGTA, who has only now decided to publicly reveal his creation.
The revelation took place on October 28th through a trailer published on the SWEGTA YouTube channel, which showed off the numerous features integrated into the modification. The ambitious project promises to introduce a huge selection of playable characters, drivable vehicles, minigames, customizable player homes, role-playing support, and even online racing. All created using DSL script loader, a plugin that allows you to deeply modify the original code of the game.
The technology behind Bully Online has opened up possibilities that would have seemed unachievable just a few years ago, as SWEGTA itself explained. Among the most significant additions is a completely new inventory system that allows players to purchase cars and even lock them using virtual keys. But the most surprising innovation is probably a first-person shooter minigame featuring giant rats, presented as a video game within the video game itself.
This design choice is not random. The developers of the mod explicitly stated that they did not want to introduce real firearms into the school environment of Bullworth Academy, thus maintaining faithfulness to the original spirit of the game. The shooter minigame therefore represents an ingenious compromise to offer players a bit of war action without distorting the boarding school setting.
Naturally, the public announcement of such an ambitious project raised concerns in the fan community. The visibility of SWEGTA, a creator with a considerable following, could attract the attention of Rockstar Games and lead to a possible forced closure of the project. However, some observers believe that Bully Online may have a better chance of survival than other mods, simply because it doesn’t directly compete with the company’s profitable online platforms like GTA Online or Red Dead Online.
The communication strategy adopted by the development team was deliberately cautious. As revealed by SWEGTA, the project has been in the works for an extremely long time, but the decision to go public only came when the team reached a level of progress where they felt confident in showing it to the community. Initial distribution is scheduled for December, when the mod will be accessible to paying subscribers of SWEGTA’s Ko-Fi page.
The long-term plan is to subsequently launch completely free public servers, accessible to anyone who owns a PC copy of Bully and installs the necessary modification. For fans who have been hoping for an official sequel to the game for years, Bully Online represents perhaps the most concrete alternative available. It may not be Bully 2, but for those who loved Jimmy Hopkins’ adventures in the corridors and courtyards of Bullworth Academy, this multiplayer transformation could prove to be much more than a simple palliative while waiting for a sequel that may never arrive.
