Rockstar co-founder and GTA lead writer's new project kicks off with a graphic novel and podcast series, not a video game

A former GTA series lead isn't actually working on new video games at his studio after all.

Back in June 22, Rockstar co-founder and GTA veteran Dan Houser departed the studio to found a new studio called Absurd Ventures. It'd be natural to assume Houser would be sticking to the video game business, but his two new projects at the studio, American Caper and A Better Paradise, actually aren't video games at all.

"American Caper centers on two normal, badly damaged American families in a world of corrupt business, inept politics, and bungling crime," a follow-up tweet from the studio reads. "American Caper will debut as a graphic novel that is being illustrated by renowned comic book artist Simon Bisley."

Bisley has an extensive list of credits with DC, Marvel, and independent comic series. He's authored Batman: Black and White with Neil Gaiman, X-Men Unlimited in 2003, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Bodycount with Kevin Eastman, and a lot of works on Judge Dredd over the years.

A Better Paradise, meanwhile, is described as an "existential suspense thriller" audio series in another tweet. The 12-episode series is currently in development, and its first episode is planned to debut early next year in 2024. It is in the works with the podcast studio QCode.

Just earlier this week, Rockstar veterans Lazlow Jones and Michael Unsworth joined Houser at Absurd Ventures. Jones' credits include GTA, Red Dead Redemption, and Bully, while Unsworth worked as a senior writer on both GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2.

Meanwhile, we're still waiting for the GTA 6 trailer to debut sometime next month in December.