Bully Online Mod to Permanently Close Just a Month After Launch, Developers Express Regret

The Bully Online project, led by Swegta, has officially been shut down just a month after its launch. This ambitious mod aimed to introduce online features and a variety of elements reminiscent of GTA Online to Rockstar’s beloved classic. Almost all evidence of the mod and its source code has been wiped from the internet, with Swegta hinting that some external influence may have played a role in this sudden closure.

In a statement on Swegta’s official site, it was announced, “The Bully Online project is shutting down. Thank you all for playing.” While no further details were provided, a screenshot surfaced from a team member’s Discord messages, revealing more concerning news for fans.

The message stated, “The Bully Online project is shutting down forever, which unfortunately means all the following is going to happen in 24 hours: our official Bully Online server (on swegta.com) will be shut down, development of scripts for Bully Online will stop, the source code will be removed from swegta.com, all our webpages referring to it will be removed, the launcher downloads will be taken down, and all Bully Online account data will be permanently deleted.”

Importantly, the team member mentioned that Swegta is preparing a video announcement with additional details, but emphasized, “know this was not something we wanted.” This strongly suggests the possibility of a cease and desist order.

Back in October, Swegta had downplayed concerns regarding potential legal action from Rockstar and Take-Two, noting that the mod required a legal copy of the game and did not compete with any existing Rockstar products. However, it’s worth mentioning that while a fully free version was planned, Bully Online had a paid early access option that might have attracted the attention of the IP holder’s legal team. While the exact reasons for the shutdown remain unclear, it seems more information will be revealed soon.