FTS: Rachel Dratch Leads Comedy Talent Joining Dan Houser's ABSURDAVERSE

RACHEL DRATCH, DAN SODER, ARI MATTI AMONG ENSEMBLE OF COMEDY TALENT JOINING DAN HOUSER’S ABSURDAVERSE

Houser and longtime collaborator Lazlow reveal first wave of castings for their upcoming animation and video game universe; debut animated shorts to screen at “Netflix Is A Joke Festival” live comedy event in Los Angeles

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — April 21, 2026 — Absurd Ventures, the entertainment company founded by Dan Houser (Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, Bully), today announced the first wave of voice castings for the ABSURDAVERSE, an interconnected comedy satire universe with an untitled animated series and an untitled original AAA story-driven open-world video game project currently in development. The first animated shorts will be unveiled and screened at an exclusive live comedy event as part of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival in Los Angeles on May 7 at The Hollywood Improv.

With a cast of hundreds expected across the animated series and video game projects, Absurd Ventures has revealed the first slate of names attached to the ABSURDAVERSE, which leans heavily into comedy veterans and standup stars. Appearing as voice talent across some of the ABSURDAVERSE projects in development are Rachel Dratch, Dan Soder, Ari Matti, Annie Lederman, Yamaneika Saunders, and Steph Tolev, with many more to be confirmed in the future.

Initially announced in 2025, the ABSURDAVERSE is a wholly original comedy-satire universe created and scripted by Houser and Lazlow, his longtime writing partner. Games written and creatively led by Houser include record-breaking titles in the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series, which have sold hundreds of millions of copies and are among the top 5 bestselling video games of all time. These story-driven titles are known for their sprawling and immersively detailed worlds, which featured hours of satirical animated TV shows and cartoons including beloved GTA fan favorites like Princess Robot Bubblegum, Kung Fu Rainbow Laser Force, Republican Space Rangers, and The Loneliest Robot in Great Britain.

"Since our earliest days working together, Dan and I have approached storytelling with an emphasis on comedy, satire and creating immersive media universes – whether through in-world radio, animated TV shows, comedy clubs you could visit, and more,” said Lazlow. “We always loved making those animated shows, starting with GTA4 and expanding through all the games that followed. The ABSURDAVERSE is our evolution of that tradition, partnering with comedians to bring these ridiculous characters to life with stories that will cross over between animation and open-world games."

“For many years, Lazlow and I have collaborated to give form to all sorts of characters that have inhabited our worlds,” said Dan Houser. “I look forward to introducing some of our newest group of maniacs from our next universe in this first set of animated shorts. We are proud to partner with the Netflix Is A Joke Festival to present this first look."

Absurd Ventures will screen a very first look at animated short subjects at an exclusive live comedy event called “ABSURDAVERSE Presents…” as part of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 7, at The Hollywood Improv in Los Angeles. In these original shorts, eventgoers will be introduced to an ensemble of eclectic and unhinged characters, including a Chief People Officer who treats his job like a DJ residency (voiced by Dan Soder), a chain-smoking sovereign citizen podcaster (voiced by Rachel Dratch), an insane MMA fighter (voiced by up-and-coming comedian Samantha Alton), and more. The event will feature live standup from Patton Oswalt and ABSURDAVERSE cast members Dan Soder, Ari Matti, Yamaneika Saunders, Steph Tolev, and host Annie Lederman. Limited tickets are now available for purchase online.

The ABSURDAVERSE animated shorts are produced by Dave Newberg (#1 Happy Family USA), with character designs by Kendra Melton (Rick & Morty, The Venture Bros) and animation via Cutting Class Media. The untitled animated series and AAA open-world action-adventure game are currently in development, with further details on release windows and platform partnerships to be shared at a later date.

To learn more about Absurd Ventures and the ABSURDAVERSE, visit www.absurdventures.com. 

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FTS: Smilegate to Publish Absurd Ventures' AAA Open-World "A BETTER PARADISE" Game

 

Smilegate to Publish Absurd Ventures’ AAA Open-World Game Set in the A BETTER PARADISE Universe

 Smilegate expands partnership with former GTA creative director Dan Houser for global AAA publishing

New game set in A BETTER PARADISE universe in development, funded by Smilegate

August 6, 2025 – Smilegate today announced that it has signed an agreement with Dan Houser’s Absurd Ventures to globally publish the studio’s upcoming AAA, open-world, sci-fi action-adventure game, set in its mind-bending A BETTER PARADISE universe. The partnership follows Smilegate’s strategic investment in Absurd Ventures, announced last year.

A BETTER PARADISE is an expansive universe created by Absurd Ventures, the company founded by Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser, the former creative director and lead writer of the GRAND THEFT AUTO and RED DEAD REDEMPTION franchises, among others. Building on the studio’s talent for crafting incredible narrative worlds and characters, A BETTER PARADISE has already spawned a hit audio fiction series, A BETTER PARADISE Volume One: An Aftermath, which debuted at the top of Apple’s Fiction charts and won the 2024 Signal Award for Best Episode of Scripted Fiction. Absurd Ventures is also releasing a novelization of the first volume of A BETTER PARADISE’s story, due out in October 2025.

Currently in early development, the video game is being written and creative directed by Houser alongside his worldbuilding and creative team which includes longtime collaborators Lazlow, and Michael Unsworth. The game’s development at Absurd Ventures is being led by veteran studio head Greg Borrud who was previously General Manager of Niantic and co-founder of Pandemic Studios. Houser and Borrud have been building an elite team at Absurd Ventures studios and the A BETTER PARADISE game project boasts senior game development talent with previous experience from Bungie, Treyarch, Respawn, Insomniac, Riot, and more, with lead credits on best-in-class action and adventure games such as Call of Duty, Destiny 2, Valorant, Spider-Man 2, Hogwarts Legacy, and many others.

With a top-tier development team, Absurd is officially in development on this new AAA game, driven by an ambitious and exciting creative vision. The company expects Smilegate’s expertise and experience, as proven by its success in the global gaming industry, to bring strong synergy to their strategic publishing partnership. Following its equity investment in Absurd Ventures last year, Smilegate plans to make a full-scale investment, including development funding, into the A BETTER PARADISE project to help ensure its global success. 

Sung Joon-ho, CEO of Smilegate, said:

“We are thrilled to take on this new challenge in the global AAA game market alongside Dan Houser and Absurd. We are confident that the strong storytelling of the ABP universe combined with the development capabilities of the Absurd team will result in an outstanding title. We are a company with a developer-first DNA and truly understand what development studios need,” he emphasized. “Through our partnership with Absurd, we will fully support the A Better Paradise game project and do our utmost to help create a new title that will be loved by players around the world. Smilegate will leverage its extensive experience and success in global markets to ensure the ABP project becomes a beloved success worldwide.”

Dan Houser, founder of Absurd Ventures, stated:

“Absurd Ventures was set up to tell new and different kinds of stories, and to create what I hope are interesting and compelling original experiences. This new game is an opportunity to go somewhere entirely different and to take players on an entirely new adventure. I am excited to be going on this journey with the amazing team that we are building here at Absurd Ventures and am grateful that we are partnering with Smilegate who really understand and support our vision.”

Kwon Hyuk-bin, Chief Visionary Officer of Smilegate, added:

“Dan Houser and I have formed a deep friendship through our shared interest in games and the future, and I find it especially meaningful that we are now able to share our creative visions through this collaboration on the A Better Paradise project,” he stated. “We’re excited to present a title that reflects the vision we’ve often discussed—one that we hope will deeply resonate with gamers around the world.

Through this joint project, Smilegate aims to grow beyond Asia and become a major player in the global gaming industry.

Absurd Ventures was advised by Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, P.C. and Fenwick & West LLP in connection with the transaction. Smilegate was advised by DLA Piper.

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Rockstar Games co-founder announces new media company!

 

Dan Houser Announces Absurd Ventures

Dan Houser, the co-founder of Rockstar Games, and former creative director/lead writer of GTA, Red Dead Redemption, and many other games announced a new company. It's not considered a game studio, it's being described as a media company.

What they're going to be doing at Absurd Ventures is creating new IPs on all platforms and formats. Meaning, they're going to be producing live-action experiences, animation, books, graphic novels, scripted podcasts, video games, and other interactive content.

"We are building Absurd Ventures to create new universes and to tell great stories, wherever and however we can," said Dan Houser.

Dan has an impressive catalog under his belt, and I believe this company would make it even better. I think this will also keep the doors of the company open because they're diversifying their offerings.

There are no announcements beyond the mention of the company, but stay tuned.

www.absurdventures.com

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