Dan Houser Avoids GTA 6 to Stay Focused on New Games

Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser reveals he's avoiding GTA 6 to prevent creative distraction, while working on two new games at Absurd Ventures, including an open-world comedy and a dystopian sci-fi.

Ever wonder how the co-creator of Grand Theft Auto feels about the biggest game of the year? Dan Houser, Rockstar Games co-founder and former lead writer on many GTA titles, is deliberately steering clear of GTA 6. In an interview with Variety, he admitted, "I haven't seen it yet. I will try and avoid it because I always try and avoid stuff that's going to distract or disrupt me creatively." That might sound wild, but for Houser, it's all about staying laser-focused on his own projects.

Houser explained that he spends most of his time making open-world games and figuring out innovative ways to market them. "I don't need to see what other people are [doing]," he said. "I'm always trying to think about new ways of doing it, not sit there in some kind of comparison of what I would have done differently." It's not just GTA 6—he apparently doesn't play many open-world games at all these days. But given his deep involvement in almost every GTA game, seeing the latest entry would be particularly distracting.

So what's keeping him busy? His new company, Absurd Ventures, has multiple multimedia projects in the works, at least two of which are games. One is an open-world comedy that Houser says is "trying to really lean into comedy and character memory," with more details coming in the next few months. The other is a dystopian sci-fi about a video game development gone wrong, featuring 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," Houser adds with a touch of dark humor.

Houser seems grateful for his past success but eager to forge a new path. "It's a privilege to be tied to stuff that was really successful and to have worked in great teams with great people and do innovative new things," he said. "All we're trying to do now is do a version of that for this period, and try and do it in a new way and see if there's anything interesting we can say with new IP." That's a refreshing perspective from someone who could easily rest on his laurels.

Earlier this year, Absurd Ventures revealed part of the cast for its AAA story-driven open-world project, Absurdaverse, featuring stars from 30 Rock and Billions. Meanwhile, GTA 6's marketing machine is already in full swing—it even turned the NBA's Miami Heat into the Vice City Heat for one game, complete with an arena makeover, new kits, and merch. So while Houser avoids the hype, the rest of the world is diving in headfirst.

What do you think? Is Houser smart to avoid GTA 6, or is he missing out on inspiration? Will you be picking up his new games when they drop? Let us know in the comments!