Daniel Houser (born November 1973) is an English video game writer and producer.[1] He is one of the co-founders of Rockstar Games alongside his brother Sam Houser. He served as the head writer and vice president of creativity[2][3] until his resignation in 2020. His brother is the current president of Rockstar Games.
Daniel Houser was born in London[8] in November 1973,[9] the son of actress Geraldine Moffat and solicitor Walter Houser.[10][11] He was educated at St Paul's School and the University of Oxford, studying geography.[7] Despite wanting to be musicians, both Houser and his brother Sam (alongside whom he would later co-found Rockstar Games) had a fascination with storytelling from a young age. Growing up near a video library in London, they watched many American crime and cult films and Spaghetti Westerns. Houser has stated that he is a fan of the film The Warriors,[12] with Rockstar going on to release a video game adaptation of the film in 2005.[12]
Career
Early work and Rockstar Games
In 1995, Houser got a part-time job at BMG Interactive testing CD-ROMs; he became a full-time employee until 1996.[10][13] Dan and Sam later became interested in a video game called Race'n'Chase which was being developed by DMA Design after getting a preview of the game. The Housers signed Race'n'Chase to BMG Interactive as the publisher and changed the name of the game to Grand Theft Auto.[14] Following the sale of BMG Interactive to Take-Two in 1998, Houser and his brother moved with the company to New York, where they founded Rockstar Games.[10] He has cited the 3D Mario and Zelda games on the Nintendo 64 as influences on his work.[15]
Houser has been credited as a producer for five Grand Theft Auto games, and also worked as a writer and voice artist for the series.[16] Despite the high profile of the Grand Theft Auto series, Houser and his brother have shied away from the celebrity spotlight, preferring to focus on the Rockstar Games brand rather than giving any one person the credit for the games' success.[17] In 2009, both Dan and Sam Houser appeared in Time magazine's 100 most influential people of 2009 list.[18]
Departure from Rockstar and founding of Absurd Ventures
In February 2020, Rockstar Games' parent company, Take-Two Interactive, announced Houser's resignation from Rockstar Games. He left Rockstar on 11 March 2020, following an extended break in 2019.[20][21] In February 2021, Houser registered two companies in Delaware: Absurd Ventures LLC and Absurd Ventures in Games LLC, the latter with a UK-based subsidiary in Altrincham. Houser is listed as the company's producer and creative director.[9] In June 2023, Houser officially announced his involvement in the studio, which he said will "create new universes" in video games, books, graphic novels, scripted podcasts, live-action, and animation.[22]
Other work
By September 2022, Houser joined the advisory board of Revolving Games, a blockchain game studio, after investing in a US$13.2 million funding round for the company;[23] Houser met co-founder Saad Zaeem some years earlier to explore ideas, but they ultimately chose different projects, leading Houser to become an adviser and investor instead.[24]
Personal life
Houser is married to entrepreneur and author Krystyna Jakubiak,[25][26] with whom he previously lived in Truman Capote's former home in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of New York City.[27][28] In 2020, they purchased Conan O'Brien's former home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.[25] They have three children, and own a holiday lodge along Saranac Lake, New York, built in the 1920s.[26] Houser holds both British and American citizenship.[9]
