In an unexpected turn of events, Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser will be leaving the acclaimed studio in March of 2020. The news broke in a SEC filing from Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive.
“After an extended break beginning in the spring of 2019, Dan Houser, Vice President, Creative at Rockstar Games, will be leaving the company. Dan Houser’s last day will be March 11, 2020,” the filing says. “We are extremely grateful for his contributions. Rockstar Games has built some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful game worlds, a global community of passionate fans and an incredibly talented team, which remains focused on current and future projects.”
Dan Houser founded Rockstar Games with his brother, Sam, and has been a significant contributor to all of the studio’s titles in his time there. Alongside producing, Dan Houser has led the charge on storytelling at the company with writing duties on titles in their marquee franchises like Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne, and more.
It’s currently unclear if Houser has plans to continue in the gaming industry or if this marks a retirement for the developer currently in his mid-40s. The success of all of Rockstar Games’ titles, especially Grand Theft Auto 5, would certainly allow him to live more than comfortably if he wanted to call it quits.
As of now, it seems that Sam Houser will remain at Rockstar Games and continue assisting in developing their next title. Rockstar has not announced or teased their next project but many hope to see the return of Bully or the highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6.
