Rockstar Co-Founder Shares Thoughts On GTA 6, Abandoned GTA 5 DLC, A Medieval Game, Agent, And More

md5

d960068b28a12f721a42d20f3327be27

link

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/former-rockstar-dev-shares-thoughts-on-gta-6-abandoned-gta-5-dlc-a-medieval-game-agent-and-more/1100-6535873/?ftag=CAD-01-10abi2f

image

https://www.gamespot.com/a/uploads/screen_medium/1837/18375603/4595079-reddeadredemption2.jpg

description

Rockstar Games' former VP of creative, Dan Houser, left the company in 2020, but he's still a wellspring of knowledge about Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, both of which he was a lead writer on. Houser recently shared his insights into both game series as well as a few of Rockstar's unrealized projects.

During a nearly three-hour interview with Lex Fridman on YouTube, Houser touched on GTA 5's uncompleted DLC that would have featured Trevor as a secret agent.

"It never quite came together, and it was never finished," recalled Houser. "It was about half done when it got abandoned. But I think if that had come out, [we] probably wouldn't have gotten to make Red Dead 2. So, there's always compromises ... I like making the stories. For me, I love the model of GTA 4 when you had the extra stories coming afterwards or Red Dead 1 when you had the zombie pack coming afterwards. I like just doing these extra things. So, I would've personally liked to have done more of that in that company."

Houser related that a James Bond-style game called Agent was also in development, but the team couldn't get the idea to work in an open-world environment without sacrificing the rising tension of a spy thriller. He added that the team hadn't even set a time period or a story before the project was shut down. Similarly, a Rockstar game about Knights in medieval times didn't make it out of development.

"[We were] sort of trying to do a version of a mythological game that could have been fun," said Houser. "And you know, [I] still love that idea, but never went very far with it. Knights would be going really far back in history ... It never got to writing any of it. Just did some backstory and played around with a few ideas. But it was always something I thought I would never do, and then kind of fell in love with it a little bit."

Fridman also asked about two of the enduring mysteries from the Red Dead Redemption games: The man looking for his friend Gavin, and the shadowy individual who knew John's actions. Houser explained that the Gavin story wasn't supposed to have a resolution before sharing this theory on the shadow man.

"He was meant to be a kind of manifestation of your shadow, your karma, the devil, somewhere," said Houser. "And then we built out his backstory over time ... And so in Red Dead 2, you could interact with him again and. .. or not really interact with him. But he was there and he was meant to be something I suppose any creative is scared of, an artist who's kind of sold his soul to the devil. And that slowly revealed itself. He knows what you're up to. What's never really made clear is, does he know this about everybody? Like, is he following you, or is he able, because of the pact he's made with evil forces, able to do this for everybody? I don't think we necessarily ever clarify that. He's certainly able to do it for you."

Although Houser wasn't involved in the creation of GTA 6, he has no doubt it will break records upon its debut.

"I would assume it will because it's so anticipated, and anticipation is the best driver of early sales, as we saw with GTA 4 versus Red Dead Redemption 1," added Houser. "You know, GTA 4 far more anticipated, sold much better early on. So I would assume [GTA 6] will sell really well. That was never my definition of success, but you certainly wanted to make money. "

Houser recently released a novel, A Better Paradise Volume One: An Aftermath, which is now available on Amazon.

content_html

Rockstar Games' former VP of creative, Dan Houser, left the company in 2020, but he's still a wellspring of knowledge about Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, both of which he was a lead writer on. Houser recently shared his insights into both game series as well as a few of Rockstar's unrealized projects.

During a nearly three-hour interview with Lex Fridman on YouTube, Houser touched on GTA 5's uncompleted DLC that would have featured Trevor as a secret agent.

"It never quite came together, and it was never finished," recalled Houser. "It was about half done when it got abandoned. But I think if that had come out, [we] probably wouldn't have gotten to make Red Dead 2. So, there's always compromises ... I like making the stories. For me, I love the model of GTA 4 when you had the extra stories coming afterwards or Red Dead 1 when you had the zombie pack coming afterwards. I like just doing these extra things. So, I would've personally liked to have done more of that in that company."

Houser related that a James Bond-style game called Agent was also in development, but the team couldn't get the idea to work in an open-world environment without sacrificing the rising tension of a spy thriller. He added that the team hadn't even set a time period or a story before the project was shut down. Similarly, a Rockstar game about Knights in medieval times didn't make it out of development.

"[We were] sort of trying to do a version of a mythological game that could have been fun," said Houser. "And you know, [I] still love that idea, but never went very far with it. Knights would be going really far back in history ... It never got to writing any of it. Just did some backstory and played around with a few ideas. But it was always something I thought I would never do, and then kind of fell in love with it a little bit."

Fridman also asked about two of the enduring mysteries from the Red Dead Redemption games: The man looking for his friend Gavin, and the shadowy individual who knew John's actions. Houser explained that the Gavin story wasn't supposed to have a resolution before sharing this theory on the shadow man.

"He was meant to be a kind of manifestation of your shadow, your karma, the devil, somewhere," said Houser. "And then we built out his backstory over time ... And so in Red Dead 2, you could interact with him again and. .. or not really interact with him. But he was there and he was meant to be something I suppose any creative is scared of, an artist who's kind of sold his soul to the devil. And that slowly revealed itself. He knows what you're up to. What's never really made clear is, does he know this about everybody? Like, is he following you, or is he able, because of the pact he's made with evil forces, able to do this for everybody? I don't think we necessarily ever clarify that. He's certainly able to do it for you."

Although Houser wasn't involved in the creation of GTA 6, he has no doubt it will break records upon its debut.

"I would assume it will because it's so anticipated, and anticipation is the best driver of early sales, as we saw with GTA 4 versus Red Dead Redemption 1," added Houser. "You know, GTA 4 far more anticipated, sold much better early on. So I would assume [GTA 6] will sell really well. That was never my definition of success, but you certainly wanted to make money. "

Houser recently released a novel, A Better Paradise Volume One: An Aftermath, which is now available on Amazon.

content_text

Rockstar Games' former VP of creative, Dan Houser, left the company in 2020, but he's still a wellspring of knowledge about Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, both of which he was a lead writer on. Houser recently shared his insights into both game series as well as a few of Rockstar's unrealized projects.During a nearly three-hour interview with Lex Fridman on YouTube, Houser touched on GTA 5's uncompleted DLC that would have featured Trevor as a secret agent."It never quite came together, and it was never finished," recalled Houser. "It was about half done when it got abandoned. But I think if that had come out, [we] probably wouldn't have gotten to make Red Dead 2. So, there's always compromises ... I like making the stories. For me, I love the model of GTA 4 when you had the extra stories coming afterwards or Red Dead 1 when you had the zombie pack coming afterwards. I like just doing these extra things. So, I would've personally liked to have done more of that in that company."Houser related that a James Bond-style game called Agent was also in development, but the team couldn't get the idea to work in an open-world environment without sacrificing the rising tension of a spy thriller. He added that the team hadn't even set a time period or a story before the project was shut down. Similarly, a Rockstar game about Knights in medieval times didn't make it out of development."[We were] sort of trying to do a version of a mythological game that could have been fun," said Houser. "And you know, [I] still love that idea, but never went very far with it. Knights would be going really far back in history ... It never got to writing any of it. Just did some backstory and played around with a few ideas. But it was always something I thought I would never do, and then kind of fell in love with it a little bit."Fridman also asked about two of the enduring mysteries from the Red Dead Redemption games: The man looking for his friend Gavin, and the shadowy individual who knew John's actions. Houser explained that the Gavin story wasn't supposed to have a resolution before sharing this theory on the shadow man."He was meant to be a kind of manifestation of your shadow, your karma, the devil, somewhere," said Houser. "And then we built out his backstory over time ... And so in Red Dead 2, you could interact with him again and. .. or not really interact with him. But he was there and he was meant to be something I suppose any creative is scared of, an artist who's kind of sold his soul to the devil. And that slowly revealed itself. He knows what you're up to. What's never really made clear is, does he know this about everybody? Like, is he following you, or is he able, because of the pact he's made with evil forces, able to do this for everybody? I don't think we necessarily ever clarify that. He's certainly able to do it for you."Although Houser wasn't involved in the creation of GTA 6, he has no doubt it will break records upon its debut."I would assume it will because it's so anticipated, and anticipation is the best driver of early sales, as we saw with GTA 4 versus Red Dead Redemption 1," added Houser. "You know, GTA 4 far more anticipated, sold much better early on. So I would assume [GTA 6] will sell really well. That was never my definition of success, but you certainly wanted to make money. "Houser recently released a novel, A Better Paradise Volume One: An Aftermath, which is now available on Amazon.

pub_date

3 November 2025, 1:09 pm

guid

1100-6535873

creator

Blair Marnell

processed

TRUE

id: 85908
uid: zRjbu
insdate: 2025-11-03 14:20:03
title: Rockstar Co-Founder Shares Thoughts On GTA 6, Abandoned GTA 5 DLC, A Medieval Game, Agent, And More
additional:
category: Game Spot
md5: d960068b28a12f721a42d20f3327be27
link: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/former-rockstar-dev-shares-thoughts-on-gta-6-abandoned-gta-5-dlc-a-medieval-game-agent-and-more/1100-6535873/?ftag=CAD-01-10abi2f
image: https://www.gamespot.com/a/uploads/screen_medium/1837/18375603/4595079-reddeadredemption2.jpg
image_imgur:
description:

Rockstar Games' former VP of creative, Dan Houser, left the company in 2020, but he's still a wellspring of knowledge about Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, both of which he was a lead writer on. Houser recently shared his insights into both game series as well as a few of Rockstar's unrealized projects.

During a nearly three-hour interview with Lex Fridman on YouTube, Houser touched on GTA 5's uncompleted DLC that would have featured Trevor as a secret agent.

"It never quite came together, and it was never finished," recalled Houser. "It was about half done when it got abandoned. But I think if that had come out, [we] probably wouldn't have gotten to make Red Dead 2. So, there's always compromises ... I like making the stories. For me, I love the model of GTA 4 when you had the extra stories coming afterwards or Red Dead 1 when you had the zombie pack coming afterwards. I like just doing these extra things. So, I would've personally liked to have done more of that in that company."

Houser related that a James Bond-style game called Agent was also in development, but the team couldn't get the idea to work in an open-world environment without sacrificing the rising tension of a spy thriller. He added that the team hadn't even set a time period or a story before the project was shut down. Similarly, a Rockstar game about Knights in medieval times didn't make it out of development.

"[We were] sort of trying to do a version of a mythological game that could have been fun," said Houser. "And you know, [I] still love that idea, but never went very far with it. Knights would be going really far back in history ... It never got to writing any of it. Just did some backstory and played around with a few ideas. But it was always something I thought I would never do, and then kind of fell in love with it a little bit."

Fridman also asked about two of the enduring mysteries from the Red Dead Redemption games: The man looking for his friend Gavin, and the shadowy individual who knew John's actions. Houser explained that the Gavin story wasn't supposed to have a resolution before sharing this theory on the shadow man.

"He was meant to be a kind of manifestation of your shadow, your karma, the devil, somewhere," said Houser. "And then we built out his backstory over time ... And so in Red Dead 2, you could interact with him again and. .. or not really interact with him. But he was there and he was meant to be something I suppose any creative is scared of, an artist who's kind of sold his soul to the devil. And that slowly revealed itself. He knows what you're up to. What's never really made clear is, does he know this about everybody? Like, is he following you, or is he able, because of the pact he's made with evil forces, able to do this for everybody? I don't think we necessarily ever clarify that. He's certainly able to do it for you."

Although Houser wasn't involved in the creation of GTA 6, he has no doubt it will break records upon its debut.

"I would assume it will because it's so anticipated, and anticipation is the best driver of early sales, as we saw with GTA 4 versus Red Dead Redemption 1," added Houser. "You know, GTA 4 far more anticipated, sold much better early on. So I would assume [GTA 6] will sell really well. That was never my definition of success, but you certainly wanted to make money. "

Houser recently released a novel, A Better Paradise Volume One: An Aftermath, which is now available on Amazon.


content_html:

Rockstar Games' former VP of creative, Dan Houser, left the company in 2020, but he's still a wellspring of knowledge about Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, both of which he was a lead writer on. Houser recently shared his insights into both game series as well as a few of Rockstar's unrealized projects.

During a nearly three-hour interview with Lex Fridman on YouTube, Houser touched on GTA 5's uncompleted DLC that would have featured Trevor as a secret agent.

"It never quite came together, and it was never finished," recalled Houser. "It was about half done when it got abandoned. But I think if that had come out, [we] probably wouldn't have gotten to make Red Dead 2. So, there's always compromises ... I like making the stories. For me, I love the model of GTA 4 when you had the extra stories coming afterwards or Red Dead 1 when you had the zombie pack coming afterwards. I like just doing these extra things. So, I would've personally liked to have done more of that in that company."

Houser related that a James Bond-style game called Agent was also in development, but the team couldn't get the idea to work in an open-world environment without sacrificing the rising tension of a spy thriller. He added that the team hadn't even set a time period or a story before the project was shut down. Similarly, a Rockstar game about Knights in medieval times didn't make it out of development.

"[We were] sort of trying to do a version of a mythological game that could have been fun," said Houser. "And you know, [I] still love that idea, but never went very far with it. Knights would be going really far back in history ... It never got to writing any of it. Just did some backstory and played around with a few ideas. But it was always something I thought I would never do, and then kind of fell in love with it a little bit."

Fridman also asked about two of the enduring mysteries from the Red Dead Redemption games: The man looking for his friend Gavin, and the shadowy individual who knew John's actions. Houser explained that the Gavin story wasn't supposed to have a resolution before sharing this theory on the shadow man.

"He was meant to be a kind of manifestation of your shadow, your karma, the devil, somewhere," said Houser. "And then we built out his backstory over time ... And so in Red Dead 2, you could interact with him again and. .. or not really interact with him. But he was there and he was meant to be something I suppose any creative is scared of, an artist who's kind of sold his soul to the devil. And that slowly revealed itself. He knows what you're up to. What's never really made clear is, does he know this about everybody? Like, is he following you, or is he able, because of the pact he's made with evil forces, able to do this for everybody? I don't think we necessarily ever clarify that. He's certainly able to do it for you."

Although Houser wasn't involved in the creation of GTA 6, he has no doubt it will break records upon its debut.

"I would assume it will because it's so anticipated, and anticipation is the best driver of early sales, as we saw with GTA 4 versus Red Dead Redemption 1," added Houser. "You know, GTA 4 far more anticipated, sold much better early on. So I would assume [GTA 6] will sell really well. That was never my definition of success, but you certainly wanted to make money. "

Houser recently released a novel, A Better Paradise Volume One: An Aftermath, which is now available on Amazon.


content_text: Rockstar Games' former VP of creative, Dan Houser, left the company in 2020, but he's still a wellspring of knowledge about Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, both of which he was a lead writer on. Houser recently shared his insights into both game series as well as a few of Rockstar's unrealized projects.During a nearly three-hour interview with Lex Fridman on YouTube, Houser touched on GTA 5's uncompleted DLC that would have featured Trevor as a secret agent."It never quite came together, and it was never finished," recalled Houser. "It was about half done when it got abandoned. But I think if that had come out, [we] probably wouldn't have gotten to make Red Dead 2. So, there's always compromises ... I like making the stories. For me, I love the model of GTA 4 when you had the extra stories coming afterwards or Red Dead 1 when you had the zombie pack coming afterwards. I like just doing these extra things. So, I would've personally liked to have done more of that in that company."Houser related that a James Bond-style game called Agent was also in development, but the team couldn't get the idea to work in an open-world environment without sacrificing the rising tension of a spy thriller. He added that the team hadn't even set a time period or a story before the project was shut down. Similarly, a Rockstar game about Knights in medieval times didn't make it out of development."[We were] sort of trying to do a version of a mythological game that could have been fun," said Houser. "And you know, [I] still love that idea, but never went very far with it. Knights would be going really far back in history ... It never got to writing any of it. Just did some backstory and played around with a few ideas. But it was always something I thought I would never do, and then kind of fell in love with it a little bit."Fridman also asked about two of the enduring mysteries from the Red Dead Redemption games: The man looking for his friend Gavin, and the shadowy individual who knew John's actions. Houser explained that the Gavin story wasn't supposed to have a resolution before sharing this theory on the shadow man."He was meant to be a kind of manifestation of your shadow, your karma, the devil, somewhere," said Houser. "And then we built out his backstory over time ... And so in Red Dead 2, you could interact with him again and. .. or not really interact with him. But he was there and he was meant to be something I suppose any creative is scared of, an artist who's kind of sold his soul to the devil. And that slowly revealed itself. He knows what you're up to. What's never really made clear is, does he know this about everybody? Like, is he following you, or is he able, because of the pact he's made with evil forces, able to do this for everybody? I don't think we necessarily ever clarify that. He's certainly able to do it for you."Although Houser wasn't involved in the creation of GTA 6, he has no doubt it will break records upon its debut."I would assume it will because it's so anticipated, and anticipation is the best driver of early sales, as we saw with GTA 4 versus Red Dead Redemption 1," added Houser. "You know, GTA 4 far more anticipated, sold much better early on. So I would assume [GTA 6] will sell really well. That was never my definition of success, but you certainly wanted to make money. "Houser recently released a novel, A Better Paradise Volume One: An Aftermath, which is now available on Amazon.
pub_date: 3 November 2025, 1:09 pm
guid: 1100-6535873
creator: Blair Marnell
related_games:
processed: TRUE

No Items Found.

Add Comment
Type in a Nick Name here
 
Other Items in Game Spot
Get 12 Months Of Walmart+ For Only $49 And Shop Black Friday Early Valve Says Steam Machine Has "Overlap" With Traditional Consoles, But It's Not One Bobby Kotick On Activision Almost Buying Minecraft And Why It Didn't Happen Red Dead Redemption Confirmed For Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, And Mobile - Free Upgrade And Enhancements Detailed Red Dead Redemption Confirmed For Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, And Mobile - Free Upgrade And Enhancements Detailed Bobby Kotick On Activision Almost Buying Minecraft And Why It Didn't Happen Avatar: The Last Airbender MTG Commander's Bundle Restocked Ahead Of Next Week's Launch Arc Raiders' Most OP Perk Just Got Nerfed Arc Raiders' Most OP Perk Just Got Nerfed PUBG's Original Creator Is Planning FPS With 100v100 Matches PUBG's Original Creator Is Planning FPS With 100v100 Matches Avatar: The Last Airbender MTG Commander's Bundle Restocked Ahead Of Next Week's Launch Vampire Survivors VR Is Out Now, So You Can Be The Bullet Hell Red Dead Redemption Release Date Is Soon For Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, And Mobile PUBG Publisher Krafton Offers Voluntary Resignations Following "AI-First" Investment PUBG Publisher Krafton Offers Voluntary Resignations Following "AI-First" Investment Metroid Prime 4 Mocchi-Mocchi Mega Plushies Just Launched On Amazon Major Ubisoft News Could Be Imminent After Last-Minute Change Who Is The Steam Machine Even For? Industry Expert Weighs In Red Dead Redemption Rated For Switch 2, PS5, And Xbox Series X|S, Coming To Mobile In December Fallout Season 2 Trailer Shows Off Macaulay Culkin And Kumail Nanjiani's Characters GTA Online Is Free Right Now, Lets You Get A Big Discount On New Mansions Silent Hill F Update Adds New Casual Difficulty, Skip Feature For New Game Plus Experience Roguelite Action And Artistic Strategy With This Week's Epic Games Store Freebies Experience Roguelite Action And Artistic Strategy With This Week's Epic Games Store Freebies Over 200 Rockstar Devs Sign Letter Demanding Fired Staff Be Reinstated God Of War Dev Had A New IP Canceled After $25 Million Was Spent On It God Of War Dev Had A New IP Canceled After $25 Million Was Spent On It CoD: Black Ops 7 Release Date & Time: How To Play Early Right Now CoD: Black Ops 7 Release Date & Time: How To Play Early Right Now More Horizon Games Are Coming, Including A Non-MMO Multiplayer Game, It Seems Red Dead Redemption Rated For Switch 2, PS5, And Xbox Series X|S Horizon Steel Frontiers MMO Is Skipping PS5 For Now Sony Says Its Best-Selling PS5 Game Is Still Coming Sony Says Its Best-Selling PS5 Game Is Still Coming Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 Servers Now Live In New Zealand, Here's How To Trick Your Console Or PC Valve's Steam Frame Will Support Android Games RuneScape Makes Rare Move To Remove Microtransactions After Fan Vote RuneScape Makes Rare Move To Remove Microtransactions After Fan Vote Former Nintendo Exec Was Surprised By Switch 2 Launch Lineup Intergalactic Actor Talks About Clashing With Neil Druckmann And Wanting To Be Like George Clooney How Much Will Steam Machine Cost? Here's What Valve Had To Say About Pricing Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Praises Valve's New Hardware That Sorta Looks Like "Leaked" Xbox Arc Raiders Adds Duo-Queue Matchmaking WoW Player Housing Finally Arrives December 2 After Decades Of Waiting Arc Raiders Reduced To Rubble Quest Guide Arc Raiders Guides Hub Valve Reveals New Hardware Lineup: A Controller, Compact Gaming PC, and VR-Ready Headset Fortnite Chapter 7: Start Date, New Map, And Everything We Know So Far Arc Raiders Turnabout Quest Guide
Related Search Terms
Other Categories in Game News