Dan Houser

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] 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.[3][4][5] First serving as the sole writer for Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 (1997), he went on to become the lead writer and creative director for most titles in the Grand Theft Auto series,[6]

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.[9][13] 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.[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.[9] 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 writer for twelve Grand Theft Auto titles and a producer for six.[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's Hall of Fame in 2014.[19]

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.[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.[22] 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.[23]

In November 2023, it was revealed that Lazlow Jones and Michael Unsworth had joined the company as executive producer and head of story, respectively.[24]

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;[30] 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.[31]

birth name	Daniel Houser
birth date	November 1973 (age 53)
birth place	London, England
occupation	Video game producer · video game writer
years active	1995–present
spouse	Krystyna Jakubiak
children	3
mother	Geraldine Moffat
relatives	Sam Houser (brother)

Early life

Career

Early work and Rockstar Games

Departure from Rockstar and founding of Absurd Ventures

Other work

Personal life

Works

Video games

Others

External links

References