Why Rockstar’s Co-Founder Walked Away and Won’t Look Back

Why Rockstar’s Co-Founder Walked Away and Won’t Look Back Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser built a gaming empire, then walked away from it. Now he says he has no interest in watching what the corporate machine produced without him. Speaking on Variety‘s Strictly Business podcast, Houser admitted he hasn’t seen the 27-minute GTA 6 preview that premiered on Netflix in August. He doesn’t plan to, either. “I haven’t seen it yet. I will try and avoid it because I always try and avoid stuff that’s going to distract or disrupt me creatively,” he said. “I’m always trying to think about new ways of doing it, not sit there in some kind of comparison of what I would have done differently.” Houser wrote and produced every GTA title up through GTA 5, along with Red Dead Redemption 2, before leaving Rockstar in 2020. His brother Sam still runs the studio. Houser has already said the GTA 6 story isn’t his work. Avoiding outside influences is how Houser has always operated. Once development on Red Dead Redemption started, he stopped watching Westerns entirely. He even held off on The Sopranos until after he left Rockstar. Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look Coming August 27 “It’s so good that it w...