The main reason for why Rockstar Games co-founder and lead writer Dan Houser left the company may have been revealed. That’s according to a reliable Rockstar insider who says he heard information from ex-Rockstar Games staff members.
Shocking Exit
Dan Houser surprised fans of Rockstar in 2020 by leaving before GTA 6 had even been revealed. As the lead writer behind the GTA franchise since GTA III, the Red Dead Redemption series, Bully and more, this was a big shock.
His departure has been a bit of a grey cloud over GTA 6 as some people don’t believe the game’s story will live up to the hype given he did not write for it. In a new interview, Dan said he thinks GTA VI will be great despite not working on it.
Questions Arose
Ever since the announcement was made, speculation has been rampant as to why Dan decided to leave the company that he and his brother Sam created and led for over two decades.
A common theory is that he just wanted a change of scenery and to do something different after 22 years at Rockstar. Another is that he did not like what the games/company had become: a focus on GTA Online money-making. Afterall, Rockstar used to make a lot of games from different IPs but since 2013, we’ve only had a GTA game and Red Dead game. The next game will be a GTA game too.
Rockstar Staff Reportedly Reveal
Now we might know more from known Rockstar insider Tez2. In a post on the GTA Forums that talks about how we may never know why Dan left, Tez decided to respond with an info drop.
The insider claims two former Rockstar Games developers told him that Dan disagreed with his brother Sam on the direction of Rockstar. Dan is the current president of Rockstar. If true, this is disappointing given what both brothers have done for the world’s art culture and we won’t see them work together at Rockstar anymore.
As alluded above, it is possible Rockstar doing one game per 5-8 years was not the way Dan wanted to do things. At his new company, where many long time Rockstar staff now work, Dan is busy creating multiple franchises across different forms of media. This is more freedom it seems.
In the recent interview with Lex Fridman, Dan Houser said he loved making single player DLC and wished he was able to have done more at Rockstar. That’s something Red Dead 2 and GTA V never got unlike their predecessors. When asked what Dan admires about Sam, the writer said “his drive and his vision early on to see what video games could become.”
What do you think about the potential reason why Dan left? Let us know in the comments.
Also from the same interview, Dan reveals Red Dead 2 ran over budget and people doubted them over it. Stay tuned to RockstarINTEL for news updates on everything Rockstar Games.
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