Dan Houser, who you might know best as one of the co-founders of Rockstar Games and one of the leading minds behind some of the best-selling games ever made, is preparing to unveil his next game-based projects. In 2020, Dan Houser cut ties with Rockstar Games, reportedly due to a disagreement with his brother, Sam Houser, and in 2021, he founded Absurd Ventures, an all-new company.
Absurd Ventures set about creating a multimedia empire, and in a recent interview, Dan Houser revealed that the firm is about to unveil its first new games. In his words, one is an open-world comedy and the other is a dystopian sci-fi adventure.
Dan Houser’s Next Games Are Coming
When Dan Houser turned his back on Rockstar in 2020, he quickly set about launching a new company, dubbed ‘Absurd Ventures’. It wasn’t until 2023 that he formally revealed his involvement with the studio, which is about the time he unveiled just how ambitious things were at the company.
From graphic novels to live-action productions, and from books to video games, Absurd Ventures wants to be a multimedia giant of epic proportions.
In the last couple of years, Houser has teased some upcoming games, but almost nothing tangible has surfaced. It has been more than seven years since Houser last worked on a game, shipping Red Dead Redemption 2 with Rockstar Games as VP of Creative, Executive Producer, and Writer on the project.
Last year, Absurd said it was working on a new universe called ‘Absurdaverse’, which would eventually come to feature a story-driven action-comedy adventure title. Additionally, the studio’s ‘A Better Paradise’ audio project was revealed to be getting a video game-based adaptation, and these are the two games discussed by Dan Houser in a recent interview.
Variety caught up with Houser, and he said that he and Absurd are shaping up to reveal some solid details about these games:
One is an open-world comedy which is trying to really lean into comedy and character memory, and that we’ll have more information on in the next few months.
And the other is a dystopian sci-fi about a video game development gone very wrong, and about a rogue AI that discovered sentience. But unfortunately, it was made by two people that didn’t like each other, so it doesn’t like itself.
The snippet was taken from Variety’s Strictly Business podcast, which took a deep dive into Houser’s past, present, and future in the gaming space.
For instance, he spoke at length about the vibe he felt working at Rockstar Games for all those years and bringing to life the most impactful video games ever made:
There was a lot of pressure making any ‘GTA’ game when I was on them. And the way I would control that pressure for me was to say, am I making something with as much integrity as I can muster and am I making something I’m proud of? And does it feel fresh, new? And if that’s the case, let the results fall where they may.
And certainly, even with games at Rockstar that were not successful, I was proud of them if we’d done what I thought was a good job. And so that’s going to be the same here. We can’t sit there going, if it’s not the biggest thing ever, I’m a failure. Because then you’ve got to process either, I’m a failure, I’m a success — but it feels just the same. So the work is the creative work, not what the market thinks of it.
The collective hope is that Dan Houser’s video game projects work out a bit better than those associated with other former Rockstar leadership team members.
I’m of course referring to Leslie Benzies, who served as the President of Rockstar North and was a lead producer on every GTA game from GTA 3 to GTA 5, but left in 2016. He went on to found Build a Rocket Boy and create Mindseye, one of the worst-rated games ever made.
Recently, Build a Rocket Boy imploded under the weight of failure, which was an awful and protracted situation for all involved.
Do you have bold hopes for Dan Houser’s next games? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that GTA 6 will be a hugely mature game, and don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter.
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
Comments