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Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser revealed he avoided watching the Extended Look trailer for GTA 6 and intends to keep avoiding it. Speaking to Variety, Houser stated that observing similar projects disrupts his creative process because he spends much of his time conceiving new approaches to building and presenting open-world games.
When experiencing genre titles, Houser finds himself automatically analyzing production elements like animation, design, and behind-the-scenes development choices. This constant analytical habit distracts him from the experience itself and does not aid him in finding independent directions for his own upcoming creative endeavors.
This protective creative habit dates back to his tenure at Rockstar. During the production of Red Dead Redemption, he stopped watching Western films to prevent contemporary references from excessively swaying the game's direction, and he similarly avoided The Sopranos while shaping the identity of Grand Theft Auto.
Following his departure from Rockstar in 2020, Houser founded Absurd Ventures, where he is currently developing several works including an open-world comedy game slated for further details in coming months, alongside a dystopian science fiction title whose platforms and release dates remain unannounced.
