Rockstar Co-Founder Dan Houser Leaving Red Dead, Grand Theft Auto Studio

Dan Houser, the co-founder of Rockstar Games, and the creative force behind games like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption is leaving the company. Through a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive announced that his last day will be March 11th.

Take-Two announced his departure Tuesday afternoon stating that it is "extremely grateful for his contributions." It said that under his leadership "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." No explanation was given as to the reason for his departure.

Dan Houser founded Rockstar Games with his brother Sam Houser in 1998 as a part of Take-Two Interactive. The company has grown to be one of Take-Two's most popular, and profitable, subsidiaries and Dan was heavily involved in the creative side of the company. He was the lead writer on massively successful games like Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 and served as producer on other Rockstar titles such as Bully and Max Payne 3.

The Houser brothers have had an oversized influence on the studio, molding and shaping many of its most popular titles. They were both included on the Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People Of 2009 list.

“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.”

It's unclear as to why Dan Houser left the studio but he had been on an "extended break" since the spring of 2019.  His departure was announced just two days before a quarterly earnings report, which is expected to come out later this week. As of now, there is no evidence that these two things are related, but the timing has raised the eyebrows of a few fans.

Rockstar has declined to comment on the situation but is instead pointing to the statement released by Take-Two. There are no clues as to whether this will affect Rockstar's upcoming release schedule or any of the teased GTA surprises coming in 2020. But either way, Dan's presence will surely be missed.

Source: Take-Two Interactive