Creative Isolation
Dan Houser, the former co-boss of Rockstar Games and former creative director on the Grand Theft Auto series, does not play many open-world games and plans to skip GTA 6. He maintains this approach to avoid outside creative influence while developing new game projects at his enterprise, Absurd Ventures.
Given that he spends extensive time building open-world titles, Houser prefers not to monitor competitor outputs to prevent constantly comparing his own ideas with others.
Avoiding Direct Media Influence
Houser noted that during the development of Red Dead Redemption, he stopped watching other Westerns entirely. He also avoided watching television shows like The Sopranos while at Rockstar to ensure external media did not disrupt his creative direction on GTA.
When playing competing open-world titles, Houser finds himself deconstructing developer strengths and weaknesses in real time rather than enjoying the experience, making it difficult to focus on original creative concepts.
Absurd Ventures Projects
Houser's studio, Absurd Ventures, is currently developing two video games alongside other media projects, including the graphic novel series American Caper and the book A Better Paradise.
