Bully 2 confirmed by composer?

Source: Largely unknown Irish gaming site The Gaming Liberty.

What we heard: It's been a long time coming, but Rockstar Vancouver will soon put the finishing touches on Max Payne 3. Originally scheduled for a winter 2009 release, Max Payne 3 was bumped to the first half of 2010. Following that game's launch, Rockstar Vancouver will apparently be returning to familiar territory, if an interview with the composer behind the studio's 2006 action adventure Bully is to be believed.

Yesterday, Irish gaming site The Gaming Liberty teased its engagement with Shawn Lee, who in addition to laying down the soundtrack for Bully also scored The Getaway. According to the site, the composer said that his upcoming projects include providing the tunes for Bully 2. "Yes. It looks like I will be doing the soundtrack for Bully 2 in the not so distant future," Lee reportedly said.

The highly regarded original Bully tells the story of Jimmy Hopkins, a delinquent 15 year old that is dumped at the front gates of New England private school Bullworth Academy by his mother. Familiar territory for Rockstar, the game became a lightning rod for controversy upon its release for the PlayStation 2 in 2006 due to its perceived affirmation of negative juvenile stereotypes. Mad Doc Software released an expanded version of the game, Bully: Scholarship Edition, for the Xbox 360, Wii, and PC in 2008.

The official story: Rockstar had not returned requests for comment as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: Looking not bogus. Though The Gaming Liberty has no track record to speak of, musicians and other one-off contributors to games have a long and storied history of spilling information on unannounced titles. One example? In 2005, an Eastern European musician gave advanced warning of Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo III in 2005, more than three years before the game was officially announced.