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Dan Houser is holding another first in his career this month.
IGN made this announcement on their site:
Dan Houser, the co-founder of Rockstar Games and longtime head writer and creative director of the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series, will make his first on-camera interview appearance at Los Angeles Comic Con.
Houser will have an in-depth conversation with IGN Senior Executive Editor, Ryan McCaffrey, about the legacy and impact of his past games and a look forward to his newer projects in development at Absurd Ventures.
This panel will be called ‘In Conversation with Dan Houser: Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, and Now American Caper,’ and it will take place on Saturday, September 27, from 12:00pm – 12:30pm PT at the South Hall at L.A. Comic Con.
For those who can’t make it, IGN.com will be livestreaming the conversation that will also feature an “exclusive glimpse into American Caper.”
Dan Houser’s Career, Warts And All
It’s no exaggeration to say Dan Houser is one of the most influential video game developers in the history of the industry. Alongside his brother Sam Houser, Dan was pivotal in founding the studio Rockstar Games, and creating the Grand Theft Auto franchise.
The Grand Theft Auto series is one of the most successful and influential video game franchises of all time. It helped push the Overton window to make video games for adults popular and mainstream. Subsequently, it is one of the key franchises to make the PlayStation family of consoles successful. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto Vice City are particular system sellers for the PlayStation 2.
Houser’s career in Rockstar is not without controversy. In 2018, he took flak for talking about some Red Dead Redemption 2 developers working fourteen hour days. Houser would clarify this was only four of the studio’s top veterans working overtime to get the game done in time.
But the issue put the spotlight on longstanding controversies around video game workplace culture. It helped fuel rumors and speculation of a toxic work environment in Houser’s Rockstar Games.
In 2020, Houser tendered his resignation to Take-Two Interactive. He has since started a new business called Absurd Ventures, making transmedia projects that will include podcasts, video features, and even video games.
Yes, This Has Never Happened
We won’t let gamers Mandela effect this one. Dan and Sam Houser deliberately stayed off the spotlight for years. The brothers have had public photos for years, and have also been interviewed on print. But they have never done an in-person interview that was recorded on camera, or shown live.
Obviously, Dan now has an incentive to talk about his work at Absurd Ventures now. He may hope Grand Theft Auto fans who don’t really know him would be interested after hearing him talk.
Houser didn’t seem to leave Rockstar Games under acrimonious circumstances. So we probably should not expect any blockbuster or controversial statements here. But for fans who have these longstanding questions about the franchise and games through the years, this could be where you get your answers. And you’ll get them straight out of the Houser’s mouth.
