Dan Houser

Daniel Houser (born November 1973) is an English video game writer and producer. He is one of the co-founders of Rockstar Games alongside his brother Sam Houser. He served as the head writer and vice president of creativity until his resignation in 2020. He founded Absurd Ventures in 2021, creating new intellectual properties across several mediums.

Prior to his departure from the company, Houser was regarded as the primary creative driving force behind much of Rockstar's output. First serving as the sole writer for '' Grand Theft Auto: London 1969'' (1997), he went on to become the lead writer for most titles in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, ''Red Dead Redemption'' (2010) and its 2018 prequel, '' Bully'' (2006), '' Midnight Club: Los Angeles'' (2008), and ''Max Payne 3'' (2012).

Early life

Daniel Houser was born in London in November 1973, the son of actress Geraldine Moffat and solicitor Walter Houser. He was educated at St Paul's School and the University of Oxford, studying geography. Despite wanting to be musicians, both Houser and his brother Sam (alongside whom he would later co-found Rockstar Games) had a fascination with storytelling from a young age. Growing up near a video library in London, they watched many American crime and cult films and Spaghetti Westerns. Houser has stated that he is a fan of the film '' The Warriors'', with Rockstar going on to release a video game adaptation of the film in 2005.

Career

Early work and Rockstar Games

In 1995, Houser got a part-time job at BMG Interactive testing CD-ROMs; he became a full-time employee until 1996. Dan and Sam later became interested in a video game called ''Race'n'Chase'' which was being developed by DMA Design after getting a preview of the game. The Housers signed ''Race'n'Chase'' to BMG Interactive as the publisher and changed the name of the game to ''Grand Theft Auto''. Following the sale of BMG Interactive to Take-Two in 1998, Houser and his brother moved with the company to New York, where they founded Rockstar Games. He has cited the 3D ''Mario'' and '' Zelda'' games on the Nintendo 64 as influences on his work.

Houser has been credited as a producer for five ''Grand Theft Auto'' games, and also worked as a writer and voice artist for the series. Despite the high profile of the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, Houser and his brother have shied away from the celebrity spotlight, preferring to focus on the Rockstar Games brand rather than giving any one person the credit for the games' success. In 2009, both Dan and Sam Houser appeared in ''Time'' magazine's 100 most influential people of 2009 list.

Houser and his brother were inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences's Hall of Fame in 2014.

Departure from Rockstar and founding of Absurd Ventures

In February 2020, Rockstar Games's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, announced Houser's resignation from Rockstar Games. He left Rockstar on 11 March 2020, following an extended break in 2019. In February 2021, Houser registered two companies in Delaware: Absurd Ventures LLC and Absurd Ventures in Games LLC, the latter with a UK-based subsidiary in Altrincham. Houser is listed as the company's producer and creative director. In June 2023, Houser officially announced his involvement in the studio, which he said will "create new universes" in video games, books, graphic novels, scripted podcasts, live-action, and animation.

In November 2023, it was revealed that Lazlow Jones and Michael Unsworth had joined the company as executive producer and head of story, respectively. The company also announced its first projects: a graphic novel called American Caper and an audio series called A Better Paradise. In September 2024, Absurd Ventures announced the formation of Absurd Marin, made up of about 20 developers from Ascendant Studios, developers of Immortals of Aveum.

In January 2025, Absurd Ventures released the logo and lineup of characters for the 'Absurdaverse', a new universe with animation and a "story-driven action-comedy adventure game."

Other work

By September 2022, Houser joined the advisory board of Revolving Games, a blockchain game studio, after investing in a funding round for the company; Houser met co-founder Saad Zaeem some years earlier to explore ideas, but they ultimately chose different projects, leading Houser to become an adviser and investor instead.

Personal life

Houser is married to entrepreneur and author Krystyna Jakubiak. They previously lived in Truman Capote's former home in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of New York City, which they purchased for , the most expensive home sale in Brooklyn's history. In 2020, they purchased Conan O'Brien's former home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. They have three children and own a holiday lodge along Saranac Lake, New York, built in the 1920s. Houser holds both British and American citizenship. As of 2016, Houser and his wife were directors of the Houser Foundation Inc. in New York, alongside Sam and his wife Anouchka.

Works

Video games

Others

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Houser, Dan
1973 births
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame inductees
English expatriates in the United States
English male voice actors
Living people
People educated at St Paul's School, London
Rockstar Games
Video game producers
British video game writers