Dan Houser Reveals Rockstar’s Struggle to Make Bully

Rockstar is gearing up for the launch of GTA 6, but, of course, Grand Theft Auto isn’t the only series the developer is known for. Alongside the likes of the beloved Red Dead Redemption games, there are many fans of another open-world adventure from the studio: Bully.

Released in 2006 and originally known in Europe as Canis Canem Edit, Bully tells the story of unruly student Jimmy Hopkins getting in and out of trouble during a year at Bullworth Academy. A smaller-scale, less X-rated version of GTA, it launched to critical acclaim. But the road towards launch was far from easy.

“The development was hard,” former Rockstar VP and writer of Bully, Dan Houser, said in a new interview as part of our IGN30 Icons Series. “The game was in trouble all of the time. It was difficult. It was an out-there concept. We were struggling with it. I wasn't sure it was going to be any good. …