Bully Trademark Renews Hope for Sordid PS4 Sequel

Few games surpass Grand Theft Auto’s quick-witted brilliance, but Bully is one of them. Rockstar Vancouver’s brilliant high school-‘em-up was a tapestry of cliques, clichés, and chemistry classes. And the cult classic could be about to make a comeback, if a trademark filed by laidback parent company Take-Two is to be believed.

The registration – submitted just five days ago – covers “computer and video game programs and software”. Sadly, it’s very similar to the listing that the publisher submitted for Agent recently, so this could just be a case of a corporate jobsworth protecting the firm’s property. That’s probably smart-thinking on their part, but we’re not looking forward to the agony if this turns out to be nothing.

Rockstar Vancouver, in case you’re wondering, was actually shut down after shipping Max Payne 3 last year. Its staff, however, were given the opportunity to relocate at Rockstar Toronto, resulting in a single Canadian powerhouse that could very well be working on Bully. Way back in 2011, gaffer Dan Houser hinted that it’s a property that the company adores and may "come back to in the future”.

The problem is that there aren’t enough Rockstar-branded studios to make these games. Perhaps the Houser brothers should just turn the entire globe into a game development sweatshop designed to churn out content. Considering the cash that the duo are about to bank when Grand Theft Auto V releases, we’re going to go out on a limb and say that that’s not an entirely insane idea.