Absurd Ventures stages three IP worlds through transmedia before two open-world games arrive
Summary
Dan Houser's Absurd Ventures, formally launched in 2023 after his 2020 Rockstar exit, is developing two new games.
One is an open-world comedy, the other a dystopian sci-fi title about a rogue AI that discovers sentience.
Both trace to three original IP worlds already rolled out through comics, podcasts, books and an animated series.
"So the work is the creative work, not what the market thinks of it."
01
Transmedia content precedes the capital-intensive games
Absurd Ventures is building three IP worlds: "A Better Paradise," "American Caper" and the "Absurdaverse."
"A Better Paradise" is the direct inspiration for the dystopian sci-fi game Houser is teasing.
Graphic novels, comics, fiction podcasts, books and an animated series are already live across these properties.
The games sit at the end of that content pipeline, with the open-world comedy getting "more information in the next few months."
The sci-fi title has no disclosed release window, and Houser's team includes Rockstar alums Jeffrey "Lazlow" Jones and Michael Unsworth plus game chief Greg Borrud.
02
Houser insulates creative output from external comparison
Houser says he avoids playing open-world games because he "deconstructs the strengths and weaknesses of the team in real time."
He has not watched the 27-minute Netflix extended look at "Grand Theft Auto VI."
During "Red Dead Redemption" production he avoided Westerns, and watched none of "The Sopranos" until after leaving Rockstar.
He delegates trend-tracking to his team rather than monitoring competitors himself.
03
Houser decouples creative success from commercial outcome, a stance that collides with Absurd's funding needs
Houser says his job "isn't to be successful in media" but "to make things I'm proud of."
He adds that being judged a failure or a success "feels just the same" if the creative integrity holds.
"Grand Theft Auto VI" launches Nov. 19 as the first "GTA" made without him, a benchmark Houser calls unavoidable.
Absurd's two unannounced, open-world-scale games still require market validation to justify the multi-format IP investment preceding them.
What this means
For Investors & VC: Add transmedia-to-game audience conversion data to diligence on founder-led new-IP studios.
For Service Vendors: Pitch open-world animation and QA capacity to the studio before its first reveal.
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