Dan Houser left an unerasable mark on gaming through his work at Rockstar, though he has since moved on to new projects. This includes two new IPs his entertainment company is working on.
You shouldn’t expect traditional gaming experiences from Absurd Ventures. The first IP, American Caper, focuses on two families facing a world of “corrupt business, inept politics and bungling crime.” We’ll explore this universe through a graphic novel illustrated by comic book artist Simon Bisley. The first story arrives in 2024.
A Better Paradise is the second IP. It’s an existential suspense thriller being made with help from Q-CODE Media. Interestingly, it’ll take the form of a 12-episode audio fiction series. It also arrives in 2024.
Dan Houser and Absurd Ventures
Houser is a co-founder of Rockstar and has served as a writer for the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption franchises. He left the company in 2020 before starting Absurd Ventures in 2021. We haven’t seen much from the business yet and the official site doesn’t offer much guidance, featuring little but some cryptic images and many-sided dice with provocative terms on them.
There are other projects in store from the entertainment company, as it intends to bring more stories from American Caper and A Better Paradise to a wide range of formats and platforms. Commenting on the IPs, Houser states that this is just the beginning, and the initial releases will allow them to introduce the two universes while “working on other iterations and expansions.”
Though Houser may have left Rockstar, it seems crass humor and depictions of American society are a constant in everything he touches. I’m interested to see how Absurd Ventures will use varied mediums for creative storytelling.