Dan Houser leaving Rockstar Games

[D T]

1 hour ago, Jabalous said:

Those were the days...

 

The Houser brothers don't look like such assholes there. It's almost like they're decent blokes. I feel bad for all the sh*t I've given them over the years to be honest. I really wish Dan the best. No other writer in the industry could ever hope to tell a story as remarkably as he did through Red Dead Redemption 2. No matter how cold and ruthless the worlds he created were, our final ride as Arthur ended as lovingly as could be, and reassured us that life could still be rich and full of beauty if a person would only pause to look and to listen. And in a way, that was the accumulation of every story that had proceeded it, the final exclamation mark from GTA3 to now. The long awaited conclusion to a singular story spanning decades and truly a magnificent one at that.

[Bob Loblaw_]

I'll probably sound like a drama queen, but I played GTA III a few hours ago and it was kinda sad, playing the game knowing one of the main guys responsible for that masterpiece is not there anymore.

[Nappy]

isn’t that guy also responsible for gta V?

[BS_BlackScout]

16 minutes ago, Bob Loblaw said:

I'll probably sound like a drama queen, but I played GTA III a few hours ago and it was kinda sad, playing the game knowing one of the main guys responsible for that masterpiece is not there anymore.

You don't sound like a drama queen. There's a clear difference between expressing emotions and being a drama queen.

 

The real drama queens are the ones overly expeculating his motives from leaving Rockstar.
You know, maybe the guy is just done with it. He's got the money, ?wife?, ?kids?. Maybe he just wanted to retire and live more his personal life. Work gets tiring one day, as much as you love it. It can burn you out it can drive you nuts if you let it.

 

As long as he's doing fine and happy that's what matters.

Edited February 6, 2020 by BlackScout

[Jabalous]

Barrons

 

Quote

 

During a phone interview, Barron’s asked Zelnick how much he can reassure investors that Sam Houser will stay with the company after the news this week.

 

“I can definitively say that Sam will stay with Rockstar going forward,” he said. “Sam and I are tied to the hip.”

 

 

[LegitimatePride]

1 hour ago, Bob Loblaw said:

I'll probably sound like a drama queen, but I played GTA III a few hours ago and it was kinda sad, playing the game knowing one of the main guys responsible for that masterpiece is not there anymore.

But... he's still there... if you bother to read the news headline, he leaves March 11, not yet.

 

On another topic, I think they'll use that month to let Dan finish writing stories for future titles for Sam to supervise once he leaves.

Edited February 6, 2020 by LegitimatePride

[Xerukal]

What are Sam's contributions to the games themselves, aside from producer? Does he have any kind of further impact on story, writing, etc... like Dan did?

[MrPhillips]

2 hours ago, Xerukal said:

What are Sam's contributions to the games themselves, aside from producer? Does he have any kind of further impact on story, writing, etc... like Dan did?

I heard that Sam picked every song for the every GTA Radio by himself in the series.

[The N. Bellic Man]

2 hours ago, Xerukal said:

What are Sam's contributions to the games themselves, aside from producer? Does he have any kind of further impact on story, writing, etc... like Dan did?

I could be wrong but Sam has ideas and vision. It's clear that he isn't the type who writes the scripts, but that doesn't mean that many/some ideas and concepts aren't his. He is like a showrunner if you want to compare it to TV series. Some of showrunners write and some don't. But like I said, I could be wrong.

 

Still, it is very sad that Dan will leave R*. That being said this is a perfect timing since at this point he will do it at the top of his game. RDR2 might be the best story that R* has told us so far. This truly is end of an era.

[Zello]

My only problem with Sam was the development of RDR1 where he was having issues and they had to bring in The Benz.

[killdrivetheftvehicle]

9 hours ago, MrPhillips said:

I heard that Sam picked every song for the every GTA Radio by himself in the series.

Sam approved every song, other people suggested the songs, but yeah the music is important in gta games.

[Agent_Zodiac]

Maybe Sam is under contract still and he's waiting for that to end before he hits the eject button? 

[silly_nate]

13 hours ago, Indi said:

https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2020/02/07/rockstar-games-future-take-two/amp/
 

“Things couldn’t be better.”

 

uh huh. 

Well of course things couldn’t be better for T2  they’re about to get annual GTA releases with zero single player and more focus on micro transactions  

[crybaby17h16]

i don't know the guy personally but i felt sad when i heard the news, it was midnight and i was in bed and like i really felt sad.. thats the success i reckon, 

the idea of him working at rockstar till he dies is kinda creepy, even tho they had this company feels like home.

 

 

 

let him enjoy his family, his money, his freedom, people aint gonna be any younger and some beautiful things don't last.. i just hope he keep in touch with rockstar..

again.. even tho next rockstar's game are high quality and stuff.. its never the same taste anymore,

[Star-Lord]

I hope this dosen't cause a ripple effect. Wishing Dan all the best it's been a great ride.

 

Edited February 10, 2020 by Star-Lord

[universetwisters]

On 2/6/2020 at 2:31 PM, D T said:

The Houser brothers don't look like such assholes there. It's almost like they're decent blokes

 

How do you know he didn't kick the kid out a window after the picture was taken

[korhan332]

if I Remember correctly rockstar treated employers like a**hole in development of rdr2 or in other games all the media was talking about that we should care but, dan houser was the lead writer of almost all of the r* games I'm sure we will not feel the same in future gta or rdr2 bully etc like we did in previous games leslie benzies is also left now t2 pushes r* to care about quantity over quality

 

I'm really scared of rockstar turning to konami 2.0 or even worse, bethesda

[kraftwerkd]

My only thoughts are that this, along with Benzies being gone, probably aren't great. My only hope is that they left behind some sort of internal documentation, design guides, outlines, etc. that the remaining team can work with. I'd really hate to see them take the same road as BioWare or Bethesda or a whole host of others and deliver a sub-par product.

 

This might be the first time a new GTA isn't a day one purchase for me. I guess we'll only see once the marketing campaign kicks in. I'm just praying it doesn't go online exclusive.

[BUT THE BENZ]

Maybe the ability cards in RDO are hidden messages. foreshadowing R* future.

.

[Excalibur Voltaire]

On 2/13/2020 at 11:27 PM, korhan332 said:

I'm really scared of rockstar turning to konami 2.0 or even worse, bethesda

They're literally a bethesda wannabe at this point now that Cockstar keep breaking RDRII with their so-called "patches"

[Tao Cheng]

-

Edited August 28, 2020 by Tao Cheng

[Niobium]

you know, for years i blamed dan houser for GTA V's story being underwhelming, but in retrospect, it wasn't dan houser himself. it was a group of writers. the same writers who wrote IV, TLAD, and RDR also wrote V, so it is difficult to assign blame with many people responsible. i've kind of grown out of assigning blame to a single writer now. anyway, i'm sure dan houser leaving will have a big impact on rockstar's writing, for better or worse.

[theNGclan]

The month since the announcement has gone so fast and it still feels unreal. Sure, it’s just some guy that develops games leaving for pastures new, but he’s one of the biggest reasons why we’re all here on this site. Hopefully he’ll be successful in whatever comes next in his life. He’s done a lot for the industry and revolutionized open world storytelling. Arguably nobody else could’ve done it better and we likely won’t see that sort of prowess for a long time.

 

Thank you, Dan.

[Mainline421]

The fact they wasn't even a single tweet or sentence on the newswire makes me wonder about the circumstances of his departure, especially with the statement from T2 being so similar to the one they had prepared for The Benz. It could just be Dan's wish to stay out of the limelight though I guess.

[GhettoJesus]

On 2/4/2020 at 11:36 PM, AUScowboy said:

This was my first thought. Maybe he’s sick of milking online? That or they had different ideas on the future of GTA and the company in general.

I am thinking the same. Maybe T2 is ready to neglect the story and singleplayer of GTA VI even more and Dan doesn't want any of it

[Uprnetiss]

7 hours ago, GhettoJesus said:

I am thinking the same. Maybe T2 is ready to neglect the story and singleplayer of GTA VI even more and Dan doesn't want any of it

I really hope that is not the case, I was thinking something similar though. 

Edited March 23, 2020 by Uprnetiss

[Adrenalist]

I’m around Sam’s and Dan’s age, slightly younger, and have seen my friends and I undergo cyclic changes in jobs, hobbies, and lifestyle. Where you just desire to break away and do something else. It’s common. And he has the money to fund his heart’s desire. While I’m saddened to read the news of this today, I can only wish Dan finds peace in this. Which I’ve the utmost confidence he will. And I think Sam will, too. Working with family is a very difficult thing. It creates stresses that shouldn’t be there. It introduces a dynamic that has the potential to do some emotional damage, and productive damage. I know this because I’ve been there. And the work environment really should be an apathetic palette. So while I’m saddened, I also know that this is probably the best for Sam, and his vision. I hope they can get back to being brothers instead of coworkers, no matter how their relations were strained over the years. And I wish the best for Dan’s new endeavors. 

[eejyool]

I'm not gonna lie, watching this video now, 6 years later, saddens me. To think that Sam is the only one left at Rockstar after Leslie and Dan's departures... I don't know, it's really weird. I really hope Rockstar Games will continue to be the industry-leaders of the video games industry that they've always proved themselves to be, and I really hope the best for Leslie's and Dan's future. I wonder if in a few years we'll see Sam leave too.

And it makes you wonder what is the exact reason why it happened, if there is one. Who knows, maybe we'll never know.

[Zapper]

12 hours ago, LodwigRedemption said:

To think that Sam is the only one left

Garbut is still there though.

[KarimNTerr]

Yeah, he took Leslie's place

 

Also, nice comment @Adrenalist