Last year, Dan Houser’s studio – Absurd Ventures – was revealed to be working on a slew of multimedia projects that included an audio drama and a graphic novel. Houser, who was one of the founders of Rockstar Games, parted ways with the Grand Theft Auto creator in 2020, announcing his new endeavour shortly after.
Now, in a job listing, it has been suggested that Absurd Ventures is working on a third-person, open-world action-adventure game.
Does that ring any bells?
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In a job listing dug up on the Absurd Ventures website, it’s revealed that the firm is working on an open-world action-adventure game. That’s the basic description for Grand Theft Auto, which might suggest that Dan Houser is attempting to compete with his former company in at least some way. Here’s an extract from the listing:
Become the primary vision holder and hands-on contributor for character, controls, and camera design in an open world action-adventure game. The person in this role will lead a team of multi-disciplinary specialists to deliver best-in-class combat and third person action across multiple game modes.Â
The listing goes on to request that the suitable applicant should have experience in combat design for an action game, as well as experience developing both melee and shooting action mechanics. Houser isn’t alone as a former Rockstar developer at Absurd Ventures – he was recently joined by the infamous Lazlow Jones, who many will recognise from the in-game radio stations, on which he spent many years voicing a character of the same name.
It’s unlikely that Absurd Ventures is working on something that would ever rival Grand Theft Auto, but it might be another solid entry into the genre that has fluctuated a little of late. It was recently revealed that Saints Row (2022) only sold 1.7 million copies before Volition was shut down.
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