Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser, the former lead writer of the Grand Theft Auto series, has continued developing original projects through his new company, Absurd Ventures, since leaving the studio. But even as Grand Theft Auto VI emerges as one of the year’s most anticipated games, Houser revealed that he has deliberately avoided seeing anything from it, fearing the franchise he once helped create could influence his new work.
Speaking with Variety, Houser said: “I haven’t seen it yet. I’ll try to avoid it as much as possible, because I always steer clear of anything that could distract me creatively or disrupt the way I think about my work.”
“Given how much of my time I spend thinking about how to make open-world games—and how much of the rest of my waking life I spend figuring out innovative ways to market them—I don’t need to see what other people are doing. I’m always trying to find new ways of doing things, rather than sitting there comparing my ideas with someone else’s and wondering, ‘How would I have done this differently?’”
Houser is not only avoiding Grand Theft Auto VI. These days, he rarely plays other open-world games at all. Still, considering his involvement in nearly every major entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, Grand Theft Auto VI would understandably pose an even greater risk of influencing his creative process.
Absurd Ventures currently has at least two games in development, including another open-world title. “One is an open-world comedy where we’re really trying to lean into humor and character memory,” Houser revealed. “We’ll have more information to share in the next few months.”
The other is a dystopian sci-fi project centered on a game development effort gone horribly wrong and a rogue AI that becomes self-aware.
“Unfortunately, the AI was created by two people who hate each other, so it doesn’t even like itself,” Houser said.
Addressing the challenge of building new IP after leaving Rockstar Games, Houser said it had been a privilege to contribute to successful projects and work alongside exceptional teams. With Absurd Ventures, he now hopes to recapture that same creative spirit for a different era, approach it in a new way and discover fresh forms of expression through original IP.