Dan Houser's first game since Rockstar is a comedy, with a sad-AI sequel
Dan Houser, the former Rockstar writer behind Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, will reveal his first post-Rockstar game within months. He said so on Variety's Strictly Business podcast. It is an open-world comedy, and a second game, a sci-fi story about a rogue AI, is also in development. Both come from Houser's studio, Absurd Ventures.
The comedy game
Houser left Rockstar in 2020. He launched Absurd Ventures publicly in 2023 to make games, comics and scripted podcasts under one roof.
The first game belongs to a world called Absurdaverse. Houser says the team wants to pay "particular attention to humor." The tagline promises you will "meet new heroes and watch them suffer."
Animated comedy shorts are part of the same universe. They are voiced by working comedians, including Rachel Dratch, Dan Soder and Annie Lederman. They are scheduled to debut in May 2026 at the Netflix Is A Joke Festival. No streaming home has been confirmed.
Promotional art for Absurdaverse, the comedy universe from Absurd Ventures.
Comedy is a hard sell as core gameplay. Few open-world games have kept players engaged through jokes alone. Houser's track record helps, though. Red Dead Redemption 2 is still praised for its writing, and he has called Bully one of the most unusual games the industry has made.
The sci-fi game
The second game is a dystopia about a video game project that goes wrong. An AI gains self-awareness. Two people who disliked each other built it, so it dislikes itself too.
It ties into the A Better Paradise podcast, which Absurd launched in 2024. A novel followed in October 2025. Korean publisher Smilegate is backing the game. That means Houser is working with outside money, not Rockstar's in-house model.
Absurd Ventures also sells comics. The monthly American Caper series from Dark Horse started in November 2025.
What's missing
Neither game has a release date, platforms or a price. Smilegate's game has no gameplay details beyond the AI premise. The comedy game's character-memory idea, where characters react to what you've done, is only a short description so far.
For now, the animated shorts are the nearest thing to a first look. The full reveal should follow in the coming months. Fans waiting on GTA VI will have a different Houser project to watch in the meantime.
