Grand Theft Auto VI has given fans plenty to discuss, but one of the people associated with the franchise is deliberately keeping his distance. Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser says he still has not watched the game’s extended Netflix reveal, choosing to protect his attention while developing new projects.
Speaking on Variety’s Strictly Business podcast, as reported by Dexerto, Houser explained that watching other creators’ work can interfere with his own process. His concern is getting pulled into comparisons and considering what he might have approached differently. For a writer building new worlds, that can become an unwelcome distraction.
The presentation he is avoiding is Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look, which Netflix launched on August 27. Netflix describes the footage as captured entirely in-game on PlayStation 5, while its listing gives the feature a runtime of 27 minutes. It represents a showcase for viewers eager to examine Rockstar’s next release.
That makes Houser’s decision particularly striking. His history with Grand Theft Auto means he would bring a very different perspective to the footage than an ordinary viewer. Where fans might study a location, character interaction, or animation for clues, an experienced developer could start thinking about the decisions behind it.
Houser described precisely that difficulty in the interview. According to Dexerto’s account, he finds himself analyzing development teams’ strengths and weaknesses while watching open-world games. He also said this habit extends beyond gaming: he avoided Westerns while working on Red Dead Redemption and delayed watching The Sopranos until after leaving Rockstar.
Those examples put his comments into context. Avoiding the presentation fits a broader approach to managing creative influences. His explanation offers no basis for treating the unwatched reveal as a review of GTA VI’s quality. Without having seen the footage, he is describing his own working habits rather than evaluating Rockstar’s achievement.
Meanwhile, Houser has new projects demanding his attention. Coverage of his Variety interview identifies two games in development at Absurd Ventures, the company he launched in 2023 after departing Rockstar in 2020. One is an open-world comedy emphasizing humor and character memory. The other explores dystopian science fiction involving troubled game development and a sentient artificial intelligence.
The comedy project makes his desire for distance especially understandable. Any new open-world experience associated with Houser will invite comparisons with his earlier work. Watching Rockstar’s latest presentation could add another reference point at a stage when establishing a distinct identity matters. That is an interpretation of his reasoning, however, rather than a confirmed description of either game’s development.
For fans, the interesting question is how Houser’s next games will express his creative interests outside Rockstar. His interview provides a glimpse of those ambitions, but it leaves plenty unresolved about how the projects will play.
For now, the Netflix showcase remains unwatched by one of GTA’s formative voices. While audiences examine Rockstar’s future, Houser is concentrating on building his own, with enough distance to let new ideas develop without constantly looking back at the series he helped shape.