‘GTA’ and ‘Red Dead Redemption’ devs join Rockstar co-founder’s new studio
A pair of veteran Rockstar employees have joined Dan Houser’s new studio, Absurd Ventures.
As noted by BeGeek and reporter Stephen Totilo, Lazlow Jones joined Absurd Ventures in June 2021, and is also listed on LinkedIn as being a “founding member of Absurd Ventures, a media company creating new IP, building narrative worlds and writing stories for a variety of genres.”
Jones was previously in charge of producing dialogue for the GTA series, in addition to appearing in the series as a satirical version of himself. He also co-chaired Rockstar’s production department.
Joining Jones and Houser at Absurd Ventures is Michael Unsworth, who was previously promoted to the vice-president of writing at Rockstar in 2021 after joining the studio in 2007 as a senior creative writer.
Unsworth is listed on his LinkedIn as being the “head of story & creative management”, having joined the studio in October of this year. During his time at Rockstar, he worked on games such as Max Payne 3, LA Noire, Red Dead Redemption, and Midnight Club: Los Angeles along with the GTA series.
Dan Houser left Rockstar in early 2020 to found a new company, Absurd Ventures, which was described earlier this year as having been created to “create new universes and to tell great stories, wherever and however we can.”
The news comes as Rockstar gears up to reveal the first trailer for the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto VI in early December. The studio announced the news in early November, stating: “We are very excited to let you know that in early December, we will release the first trailer for the next Grand Theft Auto. We look forward to many more years of sharing these experiences with all of you.”
In other gaming news, Timesplitters studio Free Radical Design is seemingly facing closure by Christmas.
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Ryan Easby
NME
