While the name Dan Houser may not mean a lot to you off the bat, you’re almost certainly familiar with the work he’s overseen. Houser was one of the co-founders of the now legendary Rockstar Games that produced the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series, which have completely dominated the video gaming sales landscape. Now, though, after two decades at the company, he is set to leave.
In a surprising statement from Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive, it was said that Houser will serve his last day as VP of Creative at Take-Two on March 11th, after having been on an extended leave since Spring 2019. It’s a pretty significant development, as Houser has, in some form, overseen the creative output from Rockstar ever since its inception. His brother and co-founder Sam Houser will remain at the company.
What that will mean for the company going forward is anyone’s guess. One would think that there’s some kind of succession line, but it will be hard to fill any shoes that have walked the halls for twenty years. There’s been rumors that Take-Two have pressured Rockstar to return to more steady content output, so whether this is related or not is unclear.