Rockstar co-founder and former GTA lead Dan Houser is making an "open-world action-adventure game" of his own at his new studio
May. 15, 2024Why yes, that does sound a bit like GTA
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Dan Houser, one of Rockstar’s co-founders and the former lead writer (among other roles) on both Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption,announced a new studio called Absurd Ventures last year. We now know at least one concrete thing that the studio, proudly dedicated to making “weird shit from desperate people,” is working on, and yes, it’s a game that sounds a bit like GTA on paper.
That said, the studio is clearly staffing up for a true-blue video game. Interestingly, that lead gameplay designer listing seems to be the only one that clearly spells out “an open-world action-adventure game.” The rest, likethis listing for senior art director, are more general with their language, pointing to “the overall visual direction of our projects” and “visually stunning and cohesive game worlds that captivate players.”
That lead gameplay designer listing also notes that “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.” Other details are thin on the ground, but this mystery project definitely sounds like something in Houser’s wheelhouse and, even if it is undoubtedly many years away, like something that GTA and Red Dead fans may want to put a pin in.
As for the “weird shit from desperate people,” well, this is what the studio’s been up to on social media:
GTA 3 dev says that the open-world game’s “hardest technical challenge” was partially solved with careful city planning and some extra windy weather.
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