Dan Houser

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Dan Houser
Dan Houser at Rockstar Games.png
Houser in the mid-2010s
Born
Daniel Houser

November 1973 (age 51)
London, England
Occupations
  • Video game producer
  • video game writer
Years active1995–present
SpouseKrystyna Jakubiak
Children3
Mother Geraldine Moffat
Relatives Sam Houser (brother)

Daniel Houser (born November 1973) is an English video game writer and producer. [1] 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 [2] [3] until his resignation in 2020. His brother is the current president of Rockstar Games.

Contents

Prior to his departure from the company, Houser was regarded as the primary creative driving force behind much of Rockstar's output. [4] [5] [6] 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, [3] [7] 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 [8] in November 1973, [9] the son of actress Geraldine Moffat and solicitor Walter Houser. [10] [11] He was educated at St Paul's School and the University of Oxford, studying geography. [7] 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 , [12] with Rockstar going on to release a video game adaptation of the film in 2005. [12]

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. [10] [13] 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 . [14] 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. [10] He has cited the 3D Mario and Zelda games on the Nintendo 64 as influences on his work. [15]

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. [16] 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. [17] In 2009, both Dan and Sam Houser appeared in Time magazine's 100 most influential people of 2009 list. [18]

Houser and his brother were inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame in 2014. [19]

Departure from Rockstar and founding of Absurd Ventures

In February 2020, Rockstar Games' 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. [20] [21] 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. [9] 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. [22]

In November 2023, it was revealed that Lazlow Jones and Michael Unsworth had joined the company as executive producer and head of story, respectively. [23] The company also announced its first projects: a graphic novel called American Caper and an audio series called A Better Paradise. [24] 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. [25]

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." [26] [27]

Other work

By September 2022, Houser joined the advisory board of Revolving Games, a blockchain game studio, after investing in a US$13.2 million funding round for the company; [28] 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. [29]

Personal life

Houser is married to entrepreneur and author Krystyna Jakubiak. [30] [31] They previously lived in Truman Capote's former home in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of New York City, which they purchased for US$12.5 million, the most expensive home sale in Brooklyn's history. [32] [33] [34] In 2020, they purchased Conan O'Brien's former home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. [30] They have three children and own a holiday lodge along Saranac Lake, New York, built in the 1920s. [31] Houser holds both British and American citizenship. [9] As of 2016, Houser and his wife were directors of the Houser Foundation Inc. in New York, alongside Sam and his wife Anouchka. [35]

Works

Video Games

YearTitleRole(s)
1999 Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 Producer, writer
Grand Theft Auto 2 Writer
2000 X-Squad Voice actor
2001 Grand Theft Auto III Producer, voice actor, writer
Smuggler's Run 2: Hostile Territory Writer
2002 Smuggler's Run: Warzones Executive producer
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Producer, voice actor, writer
2004 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Producer, voice actor, writer
2005 Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories Voice actor, writer
2006 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories Executive producer, writer
Bully Writer
2008 Grand Theft Auto IV Writer
Midnight Club: Los Angeles Writer
2009 Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned Writer
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Writer
Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony Writer
2010 Red Dead Redemption [3] Executive producer, writer
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Writer
2011 L.A. Noire [3] Executive producer
2012 Max Payne 3 [3] Executive producer, writer
2013 Grand Theft Auto V [3] Executive producer, writer
2018 Red Dead Redemption 2 [36] Executive producer, writer
2019 Red Dead Online Executive producer, writer

Others

YearTitleRole(s)Notes
2024A Better Paradise: Volume 1: An AftermathWriter, creatorFiction podcast [37]

References

  1. ↑ Narcisse, Evan (3 May 2012). "The Max Payne Comics Will Explain Why Rockstar's Hard-Boiled Cop Is So Messed-Up". Kotaku . Archived from the original on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  2. ↑ Stahie, Silviu (20 October 2005). "Rockstar's Position on Critics". Softpedia . Archived from the original on 21 March 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Suellentrop, Chris (9 November 2012). "Americana at Its Most Felonious". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  4. ↑ Glennon, Jen (4 February 2020). "Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser set to leave company in March" . Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  5. ↑ Duncan, Rion (19 January 2021). "How Dan Houser & Lazlow's Departure Will Change GTA 6" . Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  6. ↑ Orland, Kyle (5 February 2020). "Take Two stock dips as Rockstar scribe Dan Houser announces departure" . Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  7. 1 2 Hill, Matt (7 September 2013). "Grand Theft Auto V: meet Dan Houser, architect of a gaming phenomenon". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  8. ↑ "28. Sam and Dan Houser | MediaGuardian 100 2010". The Guardian . 19 July 2010. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 Scullion, Chris (2 July 2021). "Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser has founded a new studio". Video Games Chronicle . Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 Mckelvey, Ben (27 December 2012). "Meet The Brains Behind Grand Theft Auto". Stuff.co.nz . Archived from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  11. ↑ Gavaghan, Julian (14 November 2012). "Behind Grand Theft Auto V: The 'Rockstar' creators of gaming's cult hit". Yahoo! News . Archived from the original on 17 November 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  12. 1 2 Schiesel, Seth (16 October 2005). "Gangs of New York". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  13. ↑ Gifford, Kevin (26 October 2011). "Rockstar's Dan Houser: Big in Japan?". 1Up.com . Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  14. ↑ McLaughlin, Rus; Thomas, Lucas M. (6 May 2013). "The History of Grand Theft Auto". IGN . Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  15. ↑ Suellentrop, Chris (10 November 2012). "Americana at Its Most Felonious". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  16. ↑ Lynch, Gerald (5 February 2020). "GTA 6 loses long-time writer and Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser". TechRadar . Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  17. ↑ P., Ryan (18 May 2012). "Gaming Gods: Dan and Sam Houser". The Gamer's Hub. Archived from the original on 20 May 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  18. ↑ Selman, Matt (30 April 2009). "Sam and Dan Houser – The 2009 Time 100". Time . Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  19. ↑ "D.I.C.E Special Awards". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  20. ↑ Campbell, Colin (4 February 2020). "Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser leaving the company". Polygon . Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  21. ↑ Faulkner, Cameron (4 February 2020). "Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser is leaving the company". The Verge . Archived from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  22. ↑ Good, Owen S. (15 June 2023). "Rockstar founder announces new narrative studio". Polygon. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  23. ↑ Bellingham (28 November 2023). "GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 writer joins Rockstar co-founder's new studio". gamesradar. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  24. ↑ Cryer, Hirun (30 November 2023). "Rockstar co-founder and GTA lead writer's new project kicks off with a graphic novel and podcast series, not a video game". gamesradar. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  25. ↑ Dealessandri, Marie (13 September 2024). "Absurd Ventures launches new studio with Ascendant Studios staff". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  26. ↑ Serin, Kaan (1 February 2025). "Rockstar Games co-founder and GTA 5, Red Dead Redemption 2 writer Dan Houser's new studio shows off its "story-driven action-comedy"". gamesradar. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  27. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (31 January 2025). "Rockstar Games co-founder teases his new game in absurd, Rockstar style". Polygon. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  28. ↑ Ivan, Tom (12 September 2022). "Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser invests in blockchain games studio, joins its advisory board". Video Games Chronicle . Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 12 September 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  29. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (9 September 2022). "Revolving Games raises $13.2M to make blockchain games with ex-Rockstar cofounder Dan Houser as an adviser". VentureBeat . Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  30. 1 2 McClain, James (25 August 2020). "'Grand Theft Auto' Mastermind Dan Houser Skids Into $16.5 Million L.A. Estate". Variety . Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  31. 1 2 Keltner de Valle, Jane (10 June 2020). "'Step Inside This New York City Family's Ultimate Adirondacks Lodge". Architectural Digest .
  32. ↑ Dutton, Fred (21 March 2012). "Rockstar boss buys Truman Capote's New York mansion". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  33. ↑ Chaban, Matt (21 March 2012). "A Rockstar Record! Grand Theft Auto Creator Dan Houser Buys Truman Capote Mansion for $12.5 M." The New York Observer . Observer Media. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  34. ↑ Goldberg, Harold (15 November 2013). "Criminal Mind". Playboy . p. 3. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  35. ↑ The Foundation Directory Part 2 (25th ed.). Foundation Center. 2016. p. 878. ISBN   978-1-59542-521-8.
  36. ↑ Phillips, Tom (15 October 2018). "Rockstar attempts to defuse 100-hour work week controversy amid storm of criticism". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  37. ↑ Gutierrez, Luis Joshua (17 May 2024). "New Game From Former GTA Boss Will Be Introduced Via An Upcoming Audio Series". GameSpot . Retrieved 11 June 2024.
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