Rockstar Co-Founder Unveils His Next Big Game and It’s Wildly Different From GTA

The man behind Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption is back with something completely different. Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar Games, has secured a major publishing deal for his new studio's first AAA game project through his company, Absurd Ventures.

Smilegate, the South Korean gaming giant behind CrossFire, will publish Absurd Ventures' upcoming open-world sci-fi action-adventure game set in the A Better Paradise universe - though it might be a bit early to call it a 'universe'. This partnership builds on Smilegate's earlier investment in Houser's studio, announced last year.

A Better Paradise started as an audio drama that topped Apple's Fiction charts and won a 2024 Signal Award for Best Episode of Scripted Fiction. The universe is expanding beyond audio, with a novel adaptation coming later in October and now this AAA video game project.

The game represents Houser's first major project since leaving Rockstar Games in 2020. He's teaming up with familiar faces, including Lazlow and Michael Unsworth, both longtime collaborators from his Rockstar days. The creative team is building something that sounds deliberately different from the crime-focused worlds that made Houser famous.

Development will be led by Greg Borrud, former General Manager of Niantic and co-founder of Pandemic Studios. Houser has also managed to pull talent from Bungie, Treyarch, Respawn, Insomniac, and Riot Games. These developers have worked on massive hits, including Call of Duty, Destiny 2, Valorant, Spider-Man 2, and Hogwarts Legacy.

This kind of talent doesn't come cheap, which explains why Smilegate is planning what they call a "full-scale investment" that includes development funding. The Korean publisher clearly believes Houser's storytelling reputation combined with this experienced team can create something special.

For Smilegate, this partnership will be a major push beyond their Asian stronghold. The company has found massive success in regions like China and Korea but wants to become a major player in the global AAA market. Partnering with Houser gives them instant credibility with Western audiences.

Details about the actual game remain scarce, and development is still in early stages. What we know is that it's an open-world sci-fi adventure that fits into the mind-bending A Better Paradise universe. Given Houser's track record for creating immersive worlds with complex narratives, players can expect something more intellectual than typical action games.

No release date has been announced, but with development just getting underway and the team still being assembled, don't expect to see this game anytime soon. However, if Houser's previous work is any indication, it will be worth the wait.