Bully came out on PlayStation 2 on 17 October 2006, which makes 17 October 2026 its 20th anniversary. The best way to play it today depends on your platform: Bully: Scholarship Edition on PC for 9.99 EUR on Steam, the GTA+ Games Library on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, or Bully: Anniversary Edition on your phone. Rockstar has announced nothing for the anniversary, and there is still no remaster. Here is which version to pick.
The three versions of Bully
| Version | Released | What it has |
|---|
| Bully (Canis Canem Edit in Europe) | October 2006, PS2 | The original game |
| Bully: Scholarship Edition | 2008, Xbox 360, Wii, then PC | Eight extra missions, four new classes (Biology, Geography, Math, Music), new items and clothes, two-player minigames |
| Bully: Anniversary Edition | 8 December 2016, iOS and Android | All the Scholarship Edition content with improved graphics, for the game’s 10th birthday |
If you have the choice, take the Scholarship Edition or the Anniversary Edition: they have everything the original has, plus the extra classes and missions.
How to play Bully on each platform
- PC: Bully: Scholarship Edition, 9.99 EUR on Steam or 9.19 EUR as a Rockstar key at Instant Gaming on 27 September 2026. It was on sale at 3.49 EUR on Steam earlier this month, so it is worth watching for a discount around the anniversary. Prices on our Bully price page.
- PS5 and PS4: the original PS2 version, running through emulation. It has been sold on PS4 as a PS2 Classic since March 2016, and it is included in the GTA+ Games Library since 20 August 2024. It does not have the Scholarship Edition content.
- Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One: Bully: Scholarship Edition, through backward compatibility, also included in GTA+ since August 2024. Xbox players get the more complete version.
- iOS and Android: Bully: Anniversary Edition, the best-looking version, with all the Scholarship Edition content.
- Switch and Switch 2: no version exists.
Rockstar’s own support page confirms the split in GTA+: PlayStation gets the original, Xbox gets the Scholarship Edition. If you pay for GTA+ for GTA Online, Bully costs you nothing extra.
Is a Bully remaster coming for the 20th anniversary?
Nothing says so. Rockstar has announced no event, remaster or sequel for 17 October, and GTA 6 launches a month later, on 19 November. A May 2026 Rockstar job listing about “classic game technology” made fans hope, but it names no game. The fan-made Bully Online mod launched on PC in December 2025 and shut down in January 2026. The full story of the sequel that never came out, from the 2008 script to the prototype at Rockstar New England, is in our article on what happened to Bully 2.
Why Bully still holds up
Bully is Rockstar’s smallest open world and one of its most personal: a year at Bullworth Academy with Jimmy Hopkins, split between classes that unlock real abilities, fights between cliques, and a town you open up chapter by chapter. The classes, the cliques and the map are covered on our Bully game page, with the characters, the story missions and the map of Bullworth.
Frequently asked questions
When is Bully’s 20th anniversary?
17 October 2026. The game came out on PlayStation 2 on 17 October 2006 in North America.
Can you play Bully on PS5?
Yes, the original PS2 version, sold as a PS2 Classic and included in GTA+.
Which version of Bully is the best?
The Scholarship Edition on PC and Xbox, or the Anniversary Edition on mobile. Both have the extra missions and classes the original lacks.
Is Bully on Switch?
No. Bully has never been released on a Nintendo Switch console.
Sources: Rockstar Games Customer Support (Bully for GTA+ Games Library version differences), GameSpot and Game Rant (August 2024), Rockstar Games on X and HotHardware (8 December 2016), Gaming Target and PlayStation Store (PS2 Classic, March 2016), Steam and Instant Gaming (prices checked on 27 September 2026), Kotaku and Time Extension (Bully Online, January 2026), ComicBook (May 2026). Checked on 27 September 2026.