Michael Unsworth and Lazlow Jones, Rockstar veterans, have joined the studio founded by Dan Houser

Co-founder of Rockstar, Dan Houser, departed from the studio in 2020 and established a new company named Absurd Ventures in 2021. It turns out he brought some key members from Rockstar into his new venture: as noted by the French website Begeek (via Stephen Totilo), former Rockstar Vice President of Writing, Michael Unsworth, joined Absurd Ventures in October as the Head of Story and Creative Management, while former writer and producer Lazlow Jones assumed the role of Executive Producer.

During his tenure at Rockstar, Unsworth contributed to a remarkable list of projects. Joining the studio in 2007 as a Senior Creative Writer, he made significant contributions to games such as Midnight Club: Los Angeles, LA Noire, Max Payne 3, Grand Theft Auto 4 and 5, as well as Red Dead Redemption and RDR2. He was promoted to Vice President of Writing in 2021 but departed from Rockstar earlier this year, causing concern among some fans regarding the imminent announcement of Grand Theft Auto 6.

Jones, who joined Rockstar in 2001, held various positions in writing, directing, and game production. However, he's most recognized by GTA players for his radio host roles in Grand Theft Auto 3, 4, and 5. He left Rockstar in 2020, shortly after Houser's departure, and according to his LinkedIn profile, he joined Absurd Ventures just a year later in June 2021, although it seemingly went unnoticed until now.

Although Unsworth and Jones are the most prominent among those brought on board, they aren't the only notable names to have joined Houser at his new enterprise. As reported by Rockstar Intel, former Rockstar Vice President of New Media, Adam Tedman, became the Head of Marketing at Absurd Ventures in 2022, while Pandemic Studios co-founder Greg Borrud joined as the Head of Games.

Several years have passed since the announcement of Absurd Ventures, but it's likely that we'll pay closer attention to their activities in the near future. After a prolonged period of silence, the studio hinted at its inaugural project in June with the launch of a website featuring the tagline "Storytelling. Philanthropy. Ultraviolence," accompanied by a rather enigmatic teaser trailer.

Much of this seems cryptic and ambiguous, and the studio's pledge to "build narrative worlds, create characters, and write stories for a diverse variety of genres, regardless of the medium" leaves many questions unanswered. However, considering the team of professionals involved, expectations for Absurd Ventures are substantial and intriguing.