Absurd Ventures
American media and entertainment company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Absurd Ventures LLC is an American media, entertainment, and video game company headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The company was founded by Dan Houser in February 2021. The company aims to create new intellectual properties across various mediums, including video games, live-action and animated television, film, fiction podcasts, books, and comic books.[1]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | February 17, 2021 |
| Founder | Dan Houser |
| Headquarters | Santa Monica, California |
Number of locations | 2 (2025) |
Key people |
|
Number of employees | ~50 (2025) |
| Subsidiaries | Absurd Marin |
| Website | www |
History
After leaving Rockstar Games in 2020, Dan Houser established Absurd Ventures to explore new creative avenues.[3] Houser registered Absurd Ventures LLC in Delaware on February 17, 2021, and incorporated Absurd Ventures in Games in Altrincham on June 23.[2] He announced the company in June 2023, headquartered in Santa Monica, California, emphasizing the company's mission to "create new universes and to tell great stories, wherever and however we can".[3][4] Several other former Rockstar employees joined Absurd Ventures, including marketing executive Adam Tedman in 2022, producer Lazlow Jones in June 2023,[5] and writer Michael Unsworth in October.[6] Wendy Smith, formerly of Creative Artists Agency, joined the company as chief operating officer in November.[7] Pandemic Studios co-founder Greg Borrud is the company's head of games.[5]
In September 2024, Absurd Ventures expanded its operations by establishing a new studio named Absurd Marin, based in San Rafael, California.[8] This studio was formed by integrating members from the former Ascendant Studios team, known for their work on Immortals of Aveum. Bret Robbins, the founder and game director of Ascendant Studios, was appointed as the head of Absurd Marin. The team, comprising approximately 20 developers from Immortals of Aveum, is currently working on a story-driven action-adventure game based on an unannounced new intellectual property.[9] In December 2024, Absurd Ventures secured a strategic investment from South Korean game development and publishing company Smilegate. [10]
In 2024, the company partnered with QCode to release A Better Paradise, an audio fiction series exploring themes of artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The series debuted at number one on Apple's Fiction charts.[11][12] In 2025, Absurd Ventures is set to release American Caper, a comic book series set to introduce a crime-fiction universe.[13] In January 2025, the company unveiled the "Absurdaverse", featuring a diverse mix of characters. This initiative includes animation projects and an upcoming story-driven action-comedy adventure game.[14][15] It revealed its first novel, Houser's A Better Paradise Volume One: An Aftermath, in March; an adaptation of the audio series, it is set to be distributed by Simon & Schuster in 2025.[16] A video game in the A Better Paradise universe is in development.[15] Houser felt the serious tone of A Better Paradise made it suitable as an audio series, novel, television series, and video game, while the Absurdaverse was more suited to animation and a video game, and American Caper to a comic book and trade paperback.[15] The company had approximately 50 employees across its two studios as of 2025.[17]
Projects
| Year | Title | Type | Series | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | A Better Paradise | Podcast series | A Better Paradise | [18] |
| 2025 | American Caper | Graphic novel | American Caper | [13] |
| A Better Paradise Volume One: An Aftermath | Novel | A Better Paradise | [16] | |
| TBA | Untitled animated series | Series | Absurdaverse | [15] |
| Untitled book | Trade paperback | American Caper | [15] | |
| Untitled action-adventure game | Video game | Absurdaverse | [19] | |
| Untitled game | Video game | A Better Paradise | [15] |