Key information
Dan Houser, former Rockstar Games co-director and creative director for the Grand Theft Auto series, does not play many open world titles and has no plans to play GTA 6. He avoids these games to prevent outside influences while developing two new game projects at his new company, Absurd Ventures.
Houser explained to Variety that because he spends his time creating open world games and finding innovative ways to promote them, he prefers focusing on new methods rather than comparing his work to others. He previously avoided western films while working on Red Dead Redemption and skipped watching The Sopranos during his time at Rockstar to prevent the series from interfering with his work on GTA.
When playing other open world games, Houser noted that he tends to dissect the team strengths and weaknesses in real time, which distracts him. He stated that he is a creative director rather than a game designer, preferring to find fresh concepts or draw inspiration from older media.
His studio Absurd Ventures is currently developing two video games and has released the graphic novel series American Caper. The double-sized season finale of American Caper and a book titled A Better Paradise are scheduled to arrive next month, arriving one week prior to GTA 6.
