Dan Houser

Early life Daniel Houser was born in London in November 1973, He was educated at St Paul's School before matriculating in 1993 at Christ Church, Oxford, where he read 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; Rockstar later released a video game adaptation of the film in 2005. Dan and Sam later became interested in a video game being developed by DMA Design called Race'n'Chase 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.

Houser has been credited as a writer for twelve Grand Theft Auto titles and a producer for six. 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."

Houser has novelised A Better Paradise with the first volume published on October 14, 2025 accompanied by an audiobook edition on Audible.

In November 2025, Absurd Ventures began releasing a monthly comic book series titled American Caper, published by Dark Horse Comics, with the first trade paperback collection scheduled for release in June 2026. A French edition was announced by publisher Urban Comics and scheduled for release in September 2026.

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; He 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 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. founded in 2008; it was renamed the Krystyna and Dan Houser Foundation in 2024. Houser serves on the boards of the Rainforest Alliance and Brooklyn Museum.

Works Video games Year Title Role(s) 1999 Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 Producer, writer Grand Theft Auto 2 Producer, writer 2001 Grand Theft Auto III Producer, writer, audio director Smuggler's Run 2: Hostile Territory Executive producer, writer, dialog director 2002 Smuggler's Run: Warzones Executive producer, writer Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Producer, writer, audio director 2003 Midnight Club II Producer, soundtrack 2004 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Producer, writer, audio director 2005 Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories VP of Creative, writer, voice actor 2006 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories VP of Creative, writer, voice actor Bully VP of Creative, writer 2008 Grand Theft Auto IV VP of Creative, writer Midnight Club: Los Angeles VP of Creative, writer 2009 Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned VP of Creative, writer Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars VP of Creative, writer Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony VP of Creative, writer 2010 Red Dead Redemption Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare VP of Creative, executive producer, writer 2011 L.A. Noire 2012 Max Payne 3 VP of Creative, executive producer, writer 2019 Red Dead Online VP of Creative, executive producer, writerTBD Untitled A Better Paradise game TBD Untitled Absurdaverse game

Others Year Title Role(s) Notes 2024 A Better Paradise: Volume One: An Aftermath Writer, creator Fiction podcast 2025 A Better Paradise Volume One: An Aftermath Author Novel, audiobook 2025–2026 American Caper Writer, creator Comic book series