During a Comic-Con interview hosted by IGN’s Ryan McCaffrey, former Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser offered candid reflections on his past work with the studio, the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI, and the long-standing curiosity surrounding a Bully sequel.
Houser, who departed Rockstar in 2020 and has since established his new creative venture, Absurd Ventures, was asked about his feelings toward the upcoming release of GTA VI in 2026, a game he is not involved with. “In a way. I mean, I think it’s a great privilege to have worked on something that big and to, you know, I wrote the last 10 or 11 of them. So I think the world’s probably had enough GTA for me. I think it’s, you know, they’re always a new story. So it’s not going to be a story that I wrote or a character set that I developed. I think it’s going to be exciting. The game will be great, I’m sure,” he explained.
When asked to highlight personal favorites from his time at Rockstar, Houser pointed to several standout projects. He named Red Dead Redemption 2 as the most complete realization of his creative vision, praising its narrative and thematic depth. He also noted the evolution of storytelling in GTA IV, the smooth interplay of the three protagonists in the middle section of GTA V, and the emotional conclusion of Red Dead Redemption 1. Beyond these milestones, Houser emphasized the special satisfaction of working on projects that were essentially new intellectual properties at the time, such as Red Dead Redemption, GTA III, and Bully.
The mention of Bully naturally prompted McCaffrey to ask why a sequel never materialized, despite years of speculation from fans. Houser attributed it to practical limitations rather than lack of interest. “I think it was just bandwidth issues. You know, if you’ve got a small lead creative team and a small senior leadership crew, you just can’t do all the projects you want. And, you know, we’re certainly how we’re structuring it. Absurd, we’re trying to do two projects with a fairly small team, and it’s really trying to think through that. How can we do that and keep them both moving?” he said.
While Houser may no longer be directly tied to Rockstar’s most iconic franchises, his legacy in shaping them remains deeply felt. With Absurd Ventures, he now looks to channel his experience into new storytelling projects, continuing the pursuit of narrative-driven entertainment beyond his Rockstar years.
