Rockstar Games Co-Founder’s New Studio Raises Big Game Investment And Shares Rare Statement

Absurd Ventures, the new multimedia company from Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser, has just won a major new gaming investor. In addition, another new IP from Absurd was also teased.

In a press release on Tuesday, South Korean game publisher Smilegate said they “made a strategic investment and became a partner in Absurd Ventures.” If you don’t know who Smilegate are, they are best known for their Crossfire and Lost Ark franchises, which were popular in Asia.

This partnership will enable Smilegate to partner on the new IP that Absurd is creating. So far, Absurd has created A Better Paradise and American Caper with the former having an audio drama released earlier this year. The press release also mentions that a third new Absurd IP will be “revealed soon.”

“Houser’s team at Absurd Ventures includes top leaders and talent from his time at Rockstar Games as well as executive game development veterans who have worked on Call of Duty, Pokemon Go! and many other AAA franchises.”

Why They Got Together

Smilegate states that the partnership will be mutually beneficial in a number of ways. Absurd will gain great knowledge of Smilegate’s Asian market. On the other hand, Smilegate will get a Western market, AAA, narrative experience.

“The two companies will join forces in areas such as online/live service, given Smilegate’s success with CROSSFIRE and Houser and his team’s experience overseeing the wildly successful Grand Theft Auto Online.”

Comments by Dan Houser

The legendary Rockstar Games co-founder offered a rare comment as part of this press release. He said “This collaboration with Smilegate was driven by mutual respect and philosophical alignment with founder Kwon, and the great passion he and his team bring to making AAA games. We both want to build interesting worlds and new player experiences.”

We already know that Absurd is currently working on two new projects: an open-world action-adventure game based on their A Better Paradise franchise and a “story-driven adventure title based on an unannounced new IP”. That could be the third IP mentioned earlier. Just in September, a second game studio was set up by the company.

Interested in Dan Houser’s new company? Let us know in the comments. Stay tuned to RockstarINTEL for news updates on Absurd Ventures and all things Rockstar Games.