Dan Houser, the man behind “Grand Theft Auto” and “Red Dead Redemption,” is talking about his next video game projects. The co-founder and former head writer of Rockstar Games is launching a new media company called Absurd Ventures, and he is developing two games for it. One is a comedy about memory; the other is a dystopian sci-fi story about a rogue AI created by two people who hate each other.
Houser spoke about the projects on this week’s episode of Variety‘s “Strictly Business” podcast. He also revealed a surprising admission: he hardly plays open-world games anymore.
Houser’s New Projects
Absurd Ventures formally launched in 2023 after Houser’s 2020 exit from Rockstar. The company is building out its own original IPs, starting with three worlds: “A Better Paradise,” “American Caper” and the “Absurdaverse.” Houser and his longtime writing partner Jeffrey “Lazlow” Jones, a fellow Rockstar alum, are behind the projects.
The two games are just part of the slate. Absurd is also rolling out graphic novels, comics, fiction podcasts, books and animated series across those three worlds, giving consumers a full transmedia experience in each property.
“It’s a privilege to be tied to stuff that was really successful and to have worked in great teams with great people and do innovative new things,” Houser says.
He wants to bring that history to new ground. “All we’re trying to do now is do a version of that for this period, and try and do it in a new way and see if there’s anything interesting we can say with new IP.”
Why He Stops Playing Games
Houser says he avoids playing open-world games because they distract him. “I find when I play them, I can almost deconstruct the strengths and weaknesses of the team in real time and it’s distracting,” he explains.
“I’m always thinking, ‘Well, their animation team is weak, but I think this game design is fantastic.’ And, ‘Oh, I can imagine that meeting when they discuss this feature.’”
He manages this by having a team that stays current on the latest games and trends. “It’s not my job within any company that I’ve ever worked at, thankfully, to be the person that understands what everyone else is doing,” Houser says.
He applied the same discipline to “Red Dead Redemption.” As soon as he started working on it, he stopped watching Westerns. He did not watch “The Sopranos” until after leaving Rockstar, seeing only one episode before the finale, which he watched live with his wife.
Comparisons to Come
The first “GTA” game made without Houser launches Nov. 19. That means speculation about how his new work stacks up against his past hits will be impossible to avoid.
“In terms of will I always be compared to it? I don’t know,” Houser says. “I mean, hopefully, on some level there could be no greater compliment. On another level, I hope some of the stuff we make is going to be successful in its own right.”
He acknowledges the pressure of making something new after years of defining a genre. “Certainly, there was a lot of pressure making any ‘GTA’ game when I was on them,” he says. His approach stayed the same: “am I making something with as much integrity as I can muster and am I making something I’m proud of?”
The work is the creative work, not what the market thinks of it.
- More details on the comedy game, expected in the coming months.
- The dystopian sci-fi game, which Houser described in vivid terms.
Source material: “Dan Houser on Leaving ‘GTA 6’ Studio Rockstar Games, Starting an Absurd New Company and Why He Doesn’t Play Open-World Games Anymore,” Variety.
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