Rockstar Games usually run a pretty tight ship, with very few legitimate information leaks escaping the behemoth studio; recently, however, that seemingly wasn’t the case where Bully 2 was concerned.
We tentatively reported on a rumored off-screen picture of the unannounced game’s map, but now there’s new evidence to suggest that the image could be a fake. Hot on the heels of additional supposed leaked Bully 2 screenshots, a screengrab of a private conversation on messaging app Discord seems to show named leaker kevin4nov admitting that “It’s all fake.”
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The apparent admission comes after an accusation that the pictures were made using image editing software Photoshop, with accusing Discord user Gio then sharing a portion of the conversation online (which was then re-shared on Twitter, as seen below) in order to get word of the leak’s illegitimacy out online.
It’s important to note, however, that a Discord message alone is not a concrete method of definitively proving that they were faked. While kevin4nov does post in a Bully 2 Discord server, he hasn’t stated that the leak was fake in the server’s public channels. For all we know, this Discord message could also be faked.
This has been floating around since yesterday. Apparently the guy who leaked those Bully 2 pics, kevin4nov, admitted himself they're fake. That includes both maps and the in-game picture. Not surprising but there it is. pic.twitter.com/7hdZbm8ODk
— Yan2295 (@Yan2295) September 2, 2019
Though the leaks being false may now be the most likely reality, they were certainly professional enough to fool some of the Bully community’s foremost figures into thinking they were real. Bully-focused YouTuber TheNathanNS first popularised the leak after kevin4nov sent him an alleged Bully 2 map image, with Nathan deeming it to be “too perfectly consistent to be a fake” in a tweet at the time. Initially, the leaker’s identity was concealed, though with kevin4now now the known culprit it’s possible that he’s just seeking to disavow his role for self-preservation.
Publisher 2K Games recently sent private investigators to the home of prolific Borderlands 3 leaker YouTuber SupMatto, which may have served as a significant wakeup call and deterrent to those leaking games online. The continued uncertainty surrounding a sequel to 2006 PS2 cult classic Bully will undoubtedly inflict yet more suspense on hopeful fans, but its continued relevance will hopefully serve to illustrate the potential value of a sequel to developer Rockstar Games.
