GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 writer joins Rockstar co-founder's new studio

Three playable characters stand in a triangle wearing suits and holding guns in GTA 5 — (Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Two fellow GTA and Red Dead Redemption developers have joined a former Rockstar co-founders' new studio.

In June 2022, it was revealed that Dan Houser, one of the founders of Rockstar Games, had left the company and had since gone on to form a brand-new studio called Absurd Ventures. The new company is focused on creating "new IP across all platforms and for all formats," so we should expect things like games, film, TV, podcasts, graphic novels, and more from the team.

As highlighted by Axios' Stephen Totilo on Twitter, and reported by RockstarIntel, Lazlow Jones - who worked on several of Rockstar's projects, including GTA, Red Dead Redemption, Bully, and more - has joined Absurd Ventures as an executive producer. Alongside them, Michael Unsworth who worked as a senior writer on GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, has also joined the former Rockstar developers as head of story and creative management at the new studio.

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Longtime senior Rockstar developers are gathering at Absurd Ventures. The company, started by Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, recently hired GTA V/RDR2 senior writer Michael Unsworth as its head of story. Lazlow Jones listed as a co-founder. Via BeGeek https://t.co/lIFNB48Li4 pic.twitter.com/HY4Sgh6xeZNovember 28, 2023

Earlier this month, it was also revealed by Variety that Wendy Smith - former head of communications for the talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) - has joined the team as chief operating officer of Absurd Ventures. In an interview with the outlet, Smith revealed that the company plans to announce more "in the weeks ahead," and it should give us an idea of the kind of things currently in development.

In other Rockstar-related news, earlier this month it was revealed that we'll finally be getting our first look at GTA 6 in the form of a new trailer next month. There's no word yet on when exactly the studio plans to drop the highly anticipated trailer, but I'm sure fans will be on high alert as soon as December 1, as well as during this year's The Game Awards, which is set to take place on December 8.

You can find out everything we know so far about the sequel with our GTA 6 guide.

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After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training. My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.