Dan Houser, one of the founders of Rockstar Games and a co-writer of almost all of the Grand Theft Auto titles, created a new company in the United Kingdom earlier this month. This follows his stepping away from Rockstar, at the beginning of last year.
"After an extended break beginning in the spring of 2019, Dan Houser, Vice President, Creative at Rockstar Games, will be leaving the company," read a statement supplied by Rockstar Games when the news of his departure broke in February 2020. "We are extremely grateful for his contributions. Rockstar Games has built some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful game worlds, a global community of passionate fans and an incredibly talented team, which remains focused on current and future projects."
Check out a compilation of the very best wins and fails in Grand Theft Auto V out there, from extremely precise parking to giving an annoying player their just desserts.
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Dan and his brother Sam were always attracted to storytelling, and spent a lot of their youth watching acclaimed American crime and cult movies and Spaghetti Westerns. This, inevitably, went on to influence the kinds of game they wanted to create together.
Race'n'Chase, a game developed but never released by Rockstar predecessor DMA Design, where the player would chase down criminals as a police officer, piqued the interest of the two Housers. However, the premise of playing as a police officer was a problem, as it wasn't very entertaining to them. Flipping the roles on their heads was the answer, and the brothers signed the game to BMG Interactive, changing the title to Grand Theft Auto. And the rest is history, I suppose.
Dan Houser's new company is called Absurd Ventures in Games (thanks VGC) and relates to "ready-made interactive leisure and entertainment software development". That's very vague, so it might pertain to a game studio, or it could be something to do with publishing, or it may even involve investments in budding projects in the industry. This third theory holds water when considering that Houser also registered a company in the United States called Absurd Ventures LLC, as well as Absurd Ventures in Games LLC.
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The one in the United States owns all 100 shares for the one in the United Kingdom. Houser is the director of Absurd Ventures in Games in Cheshire, England, but there are no other named staff attached to the company at the time of writing. It's unlikely that we'll hear specifics on the company immediately, as the former Grand Theft Auto producer and writer isn't one to seek the spotlight. However, we'll keep you in the loop as and when we know more.
Featured Image Credit: Rockstar GamesTopics: Rockstar Games, News, Grand Theft Auto