Rockstar’s Co-Founder and Creative Vice President is Stepping Down
In an official announcement released earlier today, Rockstar has revealed that Dan Houser, the company’s co-founder and Creative Vice President, will be leaving the company in March of this year. Houser’s departure could have major ramifications for the studio and its future projects. After all, in addition to being one of its most senior figures, he was also the lead writer on many of their games, including GTA 5.
Dan Houser Will be Stepping Down in March 2020
Rockstar’s publisher Take-Two Interactive made the news public earlier today with an official report to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. “After an extended break beginning in the spring of 2019,” reads the report; “Dan Houser, Vice President, Creative at Rockstar Games, will be leaving the company. Dan Houser’s last day will be March 11, 2020. 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.”
There are few individuals who can be said to have had a greater impact on Rockstar than Dan Houser. After all, he and his brother Sam Houser were the original founders of Rockstar Games back in 1998. Since then, he has always remained one of the most important leaders of the studio. Moreover, he has also been both a producer and writer for many of their games. Perhaps most notably, he was the lead writer for GTA 5, the most successful entertainment property of all time.
With his departure from Rockstar, it’s currently unknown who will be taking his place, or whether his responsibilities will be split between multiple new or existing positions. It remains to be seen what impact this will have on the studio going forward. No doubt fans will be hoping that Rockstar’s current staff will be able to carry on his impressive work. At present, what projects Rockstar Games is working on currently is not public knowledge. Of course, GTA 6 is widely believed to be in development. However, the studio hasn’t made any actual new game announcements since the release of Red Dead Redemption 2.