Dan Houser Avoids GTA VI While Developing Two New Games

Dan Houser, the former Rockstar Games executive now developing games at Absurd Ventures, says he has not watched the extended gameplay presentation for Grand Theft Auto VI and is trying to avoid it so other creators’ work does not influence his own projects. In an interview, he also outlined two untitled games in development at his company: an open-world comedy and a dystopian science-fiction story involving a rogue artificial intelligence. Houser said he avoids material he believes could distract him creatively. Because he spends much of his time working on open-world games, he said, watching another studio’s work could prompt comparisons with his own ideas. His reluctance extends beyond Grand Theft Auto VI: he said he rarely plays open-world games because he finds himself analyzing how they were made rather than simply experiencing them. He described the first Absurd Ventures game as an open-world comedy focused on comedy and character memory. Houser did not explain how the memory feature would work, but said the company expects to share more information about the project in the coming months.