Former GTA leads' new open-world game isn't as mysterious if you pay attention to their audio series: "A lot of the questions could be answered by listening"

Grand Theft Auto character and developer Lazlow Jones as shown in game art — (Image credit: Rockstar Games)

After departing Rockstar Games, former Grand Theft Auto leads Dan Houser and Lazlow Jones set off to found Absurd Ventures - a studio that now boasts an audio fiction series called A Better Paradise, and soon, a new open-world game.

Speaking in an interview with IGN, Jones reveals what this "open-world action-adventure game" could be - or at least where fans can find answers to their burning questions about the game. "We've confirmed that we're working on a game that's in the A Better Paradise universe, and people that are trying to dig around about what does that feel and sound like? Well, the audio fiction series is about a fictional game team in the future, making an open-world game."

Jones continues, further explaining the connection between A Better Paradise and Absurd Ventures' upcoming game: "As you listen through the 12 episodes, there are scenes where the dev teams working on that open-world game are having conversations about its features. You hear people playing the game, you hear people inside the open-world game exploring around, especially as it starts to get weirder and weirder with the AI creating different aspects of that world."

The writer concludes that "a lot of the questions" fans have could be answered quite simply - "by listening to the series." As of now, just nine of the 12 episodes from A Better Paradise's first season are available via Apple Podcasts. They drop each Thursday, so there could be even more hints regarding Absurd Venture's unnamed game still to come. There's no telling when the open-world project itself will release, but who knows - maybe it'll launch before GTA 6.

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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.