Yo team — Dan Houser speaking at Tribeca 2026 is honestly one of those 'you had to be there' moments for anyone who loves open-world games. He was on a panel with Lazlow discussing his new venture Abnormal Ventures (not Absurd!) and the philosophy behind making interconnected worlds that feel like living places, not just playgrounds. Before I get into the fun stuff, Houser also shared what led him to leave Rockstar — it's this wild story of two men in a car driving for hours after a breakup conversation spiraled until both agreed on their terms, which is about as dramatic as anyone expected from these guys and worth re-telling itself.
But the real meat is his defense of open worlds. Houser argues there is no right way to play an open world because that's exactly what makes them special — players create meaning by ignoring everything you built and doing whatever they want. He cited speedrunners who played GTA exclusively at 100 mph on a bike for days as proof, not as something absurd but as legitimate expression of player agency. And he frames the GTA universe as an ecosystem where every detail matters, because when people start connecting your content in ways you didn't intend — fan theories about Laura Kane and Trevor Philips' hidden connections are classic examples — that's how a franchise becomes more than just software; it becomes a shared mythology.
Abnormal Ventures is not actually a studio by design; Houser said the company will hold the IP while smaller teams build each project around its specific story, which is a smart way to avoid creating another Rockstar-sized elephant in the room. He spoke about wanting everyone in his world to feel connected and that every character's journey should matter to someone else — his 'everybody is connected' vision has been driving this new chapter for months and I can already tell it will result in something completely different from what we came to expect from him at Rockstar, which only makes me more excited.
Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/rockstar-co-founder-dan-houser-says-theres-no-right-way-to-play-an-open-world-game-tribeca-festival-2026
But the real meat is his defense of open worlds. Houser argues there is no right way to play an open world because that's exactly what makes them special — players create meaning by ignoring everything you built and doing whatever they want. He cited speedrunners who played GTA exclusively at 100 mph on a bike for days as proof, not as something absurd but as legitimate expression of player agency. And he frames the GTA universe as an ecosystem where every detail matters, because when people start connecting your content in ways you didn't intend — fan theories about Laura Kane and Trevor Philips' hidden connections are classic examples — that's how a franchise becomes more than just software; it becomes a shared mythology.
Abnormal Ventures is not actually a studio by design; Houser said the company will hold the IP while smaller teams build each project around its specific story, which is a smart way to avoid creating another Rockstar-sized elephant in the room. He spoke about wanting everyone in his world to feel connected and that every character's journey should matter to someone else — his 'everybody is connected' vision has been driving this new chapter for months and I can already tell it will result in something completely different from what we came to expect from him at Rockstar, which only makes me more excited.
Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/rockstar-co-founder-dan-houser-says-theres-no-right-way-to-play-an-open-world-game-tribeca-festival-2026